Daughter of Asgard
by bartonaf
Summary: Lena Sullivan is not your typical heroine. As a half-Asgardian, half-human with a goodness inside her that is unmatched, she has the potential to do great things that even she can't imagine. She's not perfect, but she's exactly the hero that Clint Barton never knew he needed in his life. Clint/OC. First few chapters are original storyline then it follows movie plots.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter** 1

**A/N: This first chapter is all backstory on my OC! We get familiar characters in the next chapter, so stick around! And make sure to review please :)**

**June 12, 1989 **

Zeke Sullivan groaned in irritation as someone knocked three hard times on the front door of his crappy hole-in-the-wall apartment in Brooklyn. He sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the palm of his hand. There were three more knocks and he cursed under his breath, pushing himself up to a standing position, accidentally knocking over an empty Vodka bottle. He didn't bother putting on a shirt or smoothing down his messy brown hair.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He snapped in his hungover state, stumbling over to the door and wrenching it open. On the other side of the door stood a massive man, with dark skin and the most rigid posture Zeke had ever seen. "Can I help you?"

"You are Zeke Sullivan." The man said in a ridiculously deep voice, making Zeke's eyebrows shoot upward. He didn't even sound human.

"Uh, you asking a question man or…?" Zeke trailed off.

"Your sister is Camille Sullivan."

Zeke went rigid at the mention of his sister's name. "I haven't seen my sister in years," he spat. "So if she sent you here to try and–"

"Camille Sullivan is dead."

Zeke's arm that was propped up against the doorframe fell. "I… what?" He rasped out hoarsely. "Camille is… dead?"

"She passed three hours ago, minutes after giving birth to a baby girl."

"A _baby_?" Zeke spluttered incredulously, wide awake and completely sober. "Camille was _pregnant_? What? Who was the father? Why didn't she–"

"As your parents are also deceased and you have no other family, you are the only remaining member of the Sullivan line," the man continued, "You will take in the child and raise her as your own."

"Raise her?" Zeke shouted, stepping away from the door and turning his back to the stranger. He ran his hands through his hair without realizing that they were shaking. "You just come barging in here at three in the morning, telling me that my sister is dead, and now you're telling me to raise a _baby_?" He spun around with wide eyes. The man still stood in the doorway, his crisp black suit and perfect posture making him look terrifying.

"That's exactly what I am telling you," the man said in his strangely deep voice. He stepped inside the doorway and pulled a folder out from the inside of his suit coat. "You will relocate to Cody, Wyoming immediately. The child is at West Park Hospital awaiting your arrival. In this folder you will find a plane ticket, keys to a house, and a substantial amount of money, as well as other necessary documents."

Zeke's jaw dropped as he took the folder with his still shaking hands, opening the flap to find exactly the items that the man had said. A one-way ticket to Wyoming, three separate credit cards, the deed to a house, and a picture of a newborn child. Zeke covered his mouth in shock.

"What is this?" He asked in a barely audible voice.

"A mandate," the stranger said bluntly. "You _will_ do this, Zeke Sullivan. You will relocate to Wyoming and raise this child as your own. If you do not, you will suffer consequences you wish not to know of."

"I… who are you?" Zeke finally looked up at the man, realizing with a start that his eyes looked almost orange – a stark contrast to his dark skin. "Did you know Camille?"

"None of that is of import," he said as he slowly backed away out of the room, "I suggest that you make sure to do as you have been ordered, Mr. Sullivan. Otherwise," he turned his back to Zeke and spoke menacingly over his shoulder, "You will find yourself under the full weight of another world."

Zeke was too terrified to ask the man what he meant as the door slammed shut and he was left with more confusion than he had even known.

**June 13, 1989 **

The next day Zeke pulled his rental car up to West Park Hospital, looking around with wide eyes and wondering what force of the universe was playing this cruel joke on him. Taking a deep breath he walked in, running a hand through his hair – a nervous habit he had had for as long as he could remember.

"Um excuse me," he walked up to a nurse behind the desk at newborn care, "My name is Zeke Sullivan, I… I don't know if I'm–"

"Oh of course, Mr. Sullivan," the nurse said brightly, standing up and walking around the desk, "We've been expecting you. Follow me, please."

"Expecting me?" He echoed.

They walked around a corner and came to a large window where rows of newborns were lying in cribs. The nurse told him to wait there as she went through a door into the room. He watched as she walked to the very back corner and lifted a baby in a pink blanket. He inhaled sharply as she came back out into the hall.

"Mr. Sullivan," the nurse grinned, "I'd like to introduce you to your niece, Magdalena."

"Magdalena?" Zeke asked with a pained chuckle. "My sister named her daughter Magdalena?"

The nurse laughed. "Yes well, to each their own I suppose. Here, hold her."

"Oh no, I don't think I'm ready for–" But the nurse ignored him, handing over the small little pink bundle to Zeke. He took her reluctantly with hesitant hands, trying not to completely freak out more than he already was. "There you go, make sure to hold her head up."

Zeke was breathing heavily and on the verge of an anxiety attack when the blanket fell back away from the infant's face, giving Zeke a clear view of her face.

He gasped, tears stinging the back of his eyes. Magdalena's eyes blinked open slowly as babies' do with a flash of blue-green, her tiny mouth widening in a yawn. She looked right up at Zeke with her bright eyes and that was when he knew he was done for, expelling a heavy breath.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" The nurse asked.

"Yeah," he whispered, "She is." He paused for a few seconds before holding the baby close to his face, "I've messed up a lot of things in my life. But I won't mess you up. I promise, Magdalena."

"How about Lena?" The nurse asked and Zeke tore his eyes away from the child in his arms.

"What?"

"Lena. For short. Magdalena's kind of a mouthful, you know."

Zeke nodded numbly, turning his attention back to the baby. "Yeah. I like that. Lena."

And just like that, Zeke Sullivan had a family again.

**June 12, 2007 **

"Lena! Lena if you don't hurry up, you're going to be late to your own graduation!" Zeke called out from the bottom of the staircase in the lavish home that he shared with his niece. Lena had always wondered how he could afford such a nice place when he was just a mechanic in a small town like Cody, Wyoming, but whenever she asked he would just shrug and say he invested early. She never thought to question him beyond that.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Lena shouted from her bedroom, checking her makeup one last time in the mirror before grabbing her camera and running out. She ran down the hallway and swung around to the top of the stairs. "Well?" She called down to her uncle, who looked up at her from adjusting the sleeves on his blue button down shirt. "How do I look? Like a high school graduate?"

Zeke smiled up at his niece – his Lena. Over the past 18 years, that little bundle in the pink blanket had grown up into a beautiful young woman. She posed dramatically at the top of the stairs in her white halter top graduation dress, the dark blue colors of her high school robes swirling around her. Her long sandy blonde hair laid straight underneath her cap, the tassel hanging down in front of her heart shaped face. She looked like his sister – her mother – at that age: average height, slender yet curvy, all bright eyes and smiles. Yet she was also… different. Zeke had never found out who his niece's father was despite how hard he had tried, but he assumed the man was a good looking guy since Lena was so gorgeous.

"You look beautiful, honey." Zeke told her, grinning as he put his hands in his pockets. The years had treated him well despite the responsibilities he had never expected. His curly brown hair had grayed at the roots (he blamed it on Lena's goth phase when she was 14), and there were wrinkles on his face that hadn't been there when he was a 24 year old living in Brooklyn working out of a chop shop. But he wouldn't change a single thing about the past 18 years. He loved Lena more than anything in the world.

"Well I ought to look beautiful," Lena said teasingly as she descended down the stairs slowly, not wanting to trip in her high heels. "It's my eighteenth birthday! Aren't I supposed to suddenly be all-beautiful and all-knowing?"

Zeke laughed. "Pretty sure you've had both of those traits down since you were born."

"Right, of course. What was I thinking? I've always been perfect," Lena teased with a grin, her perfect teeth gleaming as she stepped forward and embraced the most important person in her life.

"Happy birthday, Lena." Zeke whispered, his heart constricting as he thought about his tiny little Lena, all grown up right in front of his eyes. "I got you something," he told her as he pulled back, gesturing for her to follow him into the kitchen.

Lena sighed. "Zeke, I told you I didn't want anything. Pretty sure tuition at Stanford counts as a birthday present for the next four years."

"Oh be quiet and take it." Zeke handed her a rectangular box that was horribly wrapped, making her roll her eyes, albeit fondly. "And besides," he continued as she tore at the wrapping, "I didn't spend a dime."

Lena raised her eyebrows as she opened the box, revealing a bracelet inside. It looked like white twine, with a heavy knot in the middle and a metal clasp.

"I…" She trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"It was your mother's." Zeke said softly, making Lena snap her eyes up to his. "When I was doing some digging trying to find your dad last year–"

"Zeke I told you, _you're_ my dad. You don't have to–"

"I know, but just listen. When I was doing some digging I found out that she had a safety deposit box out in Indiana. Don't ask me why there, because I don't know. But when I went, they told me she had given specific instructions that I could open it. When I did, the only thing in there was that bracelet."

Lena's mouth parted as she lifted the bracelet from the box, holding it up in front of her eyes. It was beautiful. Nothing extraordinary to the naked eye, but beautiful all the same. She could feel Zeke smiling at her.

"Here, let me put it on for you," he said, reaching out to take the bracelet. He clasped it around her wrist and smiled.

"It's beautiful, Zeke." Lena looked up at him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, sweetheart. Now come on, Miss High School Graduate! We've got places to be!"

Lena laughed as they left the house, hopping into his Jeep and heading towards her high school where the graduation ceremony was being held. They pulled over at a gas station to fill up on the way, Zeke asking if Lena wanted anything to drink from inside knowing good and well she wanted a Cheerwine like she always did. Lena rolled her eyes as he teased her about her sugar intake, her guardian still grinning as he went inside the small convenience store.

Lena was so focused on checking her lipstick in the side view mirror that she didn't even notice the man wearing a trench coat in the middle of June follow Zeke inside. A few seconds later she was leaning her head back against the seat with her eyes closed, thinking about how amazing college was going to be, when she heard the gunshots.

_Bang. Bang._

Lena's eyes snapped open, looking out the windshield to the store in front of her.

_Bang._

She undid her seatbelt as fast as possible, driven by pure instinct as she stumbled out of the Jeep.

_Bang. Bang. Bang. _

Her graduation cap fell off as she ran towards the store, slamming into the door and stumbling inside, almost tripping over her robes. Shelves were toppled over, the glass case at the cashier station was shattered. The man in the trench coat was lying on the ground, blood pooling around him. She could see that he had been shot in the chest and in the head.

"Zeke," Lena whispered, her heart fluttering like a hummingbird's. "Zeke," she called out a little louder.

"H-He's back there." Lena whipped around to see a woman standing up slowly from behind the shattered glass counter. She was pointing to the back of the store and Lena followed her gaze with dread.

Her heart lurched as she saw her uncle slumped against the coffee station about fifteen feet away from her, a bright red stain spreading across his blue dress shirt. "No," she whispered, "No, no, no."

Lena was beside her uncle in a heartbeat, but to her it felt as if it took ages to reach him. She fell to her knees beside him, barely registering the pain as she took him in her arms.

"Zeke? Zeke look at me, come on. Come on Zeke, you have to look at me," she pleaded, barely registering the woman at the front of the store talking to the police on the phone, sirens blaring in the distance. "Zeke?" Her voice raised. "Zeke! You have to wake up!" But he wasn't going to wake up and Lena knew it. His eyes were open, the life gone out of them. "No! No you can't be dead!" She cried out, tears streaming down her face and smearing the makeup she had worked so hard on. "You can't be!"

The police were pouring in by that point, but the world had disappeared around Lena. All she could see was Zeke's blank stare as she shook him violently, her vision blurring.

"No! You can't be dead! You're all I have Zeke, no! Please!"

Policemen looked on in sadness as a sobbing teenage girl in a graduation cap and gown held a dead man in her arms, his blood all over her pretty white dress.

And just like that, Lena Sullivan was all alone in the world.

**June 12, 2009 **

Florida was hot. _Really_ hot. Too hot for a girl that had lived in Wyoming for the first eighteen years of her life.

After Zeke was killed, Lena had no one. She was a legal adult so it wasn't as if they could put her in a foster home or she could be adopted. She was on her own. But just the thought of going to college, getting her degree, moving on with her life the way she was supposed to felt wrong to her. Life without Zeke was just _wrong_.

Fortunately for Lena, Zeke had left a ton of money behind. Like, a _ton_. So the day after his funeral she had taken the money and hopped in Zeke's jeep, leaving everything else behind because nothing mattered anymore. And then she drove. She drove and drove and drove until she was finally tired of driving. She ended up in Clearwater, Florida of all places. She'd been to Florida before, Zeke had taken her to Disney World for her tenth birthday, but she'd never _really_ been to Florida. But considering she was just running away from everything she knew, it was as good a place as any.

She'd gotten an apartment, a crappy waitressing job that she didn't really need, and everything else that she needed to survive. Not live, but survive.

And now it was her birthday. Or rather, the anniversary of Zeke's death. That was the way she saw it now. The years passed and she got older, but did it really matter if you didn't have anyone to love or love you back?

That was the question running through her mind as she plopped down on a random bench, a bottle of scotch in her hands. It was late, almost midnight on a Tuesday, so there were hardly people out and about.

Lena sighed, leaning her head down.

"What am I doing, Zeke?" She whispered. "What am I doing?"

"You know I'm not an expert, but I don't think you should be asking that question to a liquor bottle."

Lena snapped her head up so fast her neck cracked and she winced. An older man had sat down next to her on the bench, his white hair hidden underneath a corduroy hat. He looked to be in his 60s or 70s, a wry smile on his face.

"Yeah well," Lena started, looking back down at the bottle, "This bottle seems to be the only thing that's listening."

The old man chuckled heartily. "Obviously not, since I'm here." A few years ago Lena might have laughed along with him, but now she just didn't have it in her. "What's your name?"

Lena hesitated. "Isabelle," she lied for a reason she couldn't pinpoint.

The man chuckled again. "You're lying, but that's alright. My name's Jem. With an 'e,' not an 'i.'"

"Well it's nice to meet you, Jem with an e." Lena said dryly, lifting the bottle for a swig.

"A young girl like you drinking Scotch?"

Lena chuckled bitterly as she lowered the bottle. "Gonna tell me I'm too pretty for hard liquor, Jem?"

"Nope," he said, "I was gonna say it's refreshing to meet a girl that can hold her alcohol. Hand that over."

Lena was too stunned to refuse as he reached over and grabbed the bottle, taking a swig for himself and hissing at the burn. "Whew, I haven't had scotch in a long time."

"Did I just pull you off the wagon?"

"Oh no, I never got on." Jem laughed, handing it back over to her. She could see the genuineness in his eyes. "Now why don't you tell me why you're out here in the middle of the night?"

Lena looked down at her feet, vaguely aware of her messy hair that she never bothered with anymore, the bags under her eyes that she stopped trying to cover up with makeup ages ago, and her wrinkled clothes.

"Jem have you ever watched someone die?" She asked, pure melancholy lacing her voice.

"Yes I have. My wife, six years ago. Breast cancer."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Ah, don't be. I had 42 wonderful years with her. I'm luckier than most." Jem said. Lena was silent, absentmindedly touching the bracelet on her wrist. "I take it you lost someone?"

Lena hesitated, but nodded. "My uncle. He was shot, two years ago today. He was the only family I had." Jem was silent. "And what's funny," she laughed, though there was no trace of humor in it, "Is that he would hate what I'm doing right now. Not going to college, barely taking care of myself. He'd be so pissed."

"Then why're you doing it?"

"Because he isn't here." Lena shrugged. "He's dead. Doesn't matter if he'd be mad or not anymore. There isn't anyone to care what I do with my life, so why should I?"

She could feel Jem's eyes on her, but he didn't speak for about a minute.

"You ever fight someone?" He asked suddenly. Lena looked up at him incredulously.

"What?"

"Fighting. You ever done it?"

"I… no. No of course not, I've never fought anyone."

"Hmph. That's a shame. Girl like you, drinking hard liquor. I'd have figured you would know how to fight."

"I…"

"You wanna learn?"

"Learn?" Lena's eyes bugged out. "How to _fight_?"

"Yes how to fight, ain't you been listening?" Jem asked incredulously, standing up and gesturing for her to follow him. She was too stunned to do anything other than mimic his movements. "This is my gym," he pointed up at the building they had been sitting in front of. An old rusty sign read, "_Jem's Gym – Where the Best Train._"

"O…kay," Lena said slowly, glancing at the older man from out of the corner of her eye. "Clever name. Jem's gym."

"I like to think so." The old man pursed his lips in thought, turning to face Lena. "I been looking for someone to help me out around here. You know, paperwork and that kind of thing. Stuff I'm too old to do now that it's all on the computer." He paused. "You look like you know your way 'round a computer. You could work here, help me out. And in return I can train you, teach you how to fight."

Lena laughed, looking back up at the sign. "You _just_ met me on a bench in the middle of the night while I was drinking underage in front of your gym. Yet you're offering me a _job_?"

"My wife told me once that she thought I had a gift." Jem said thoughtfully, ignoring her question. "A gift of knowing when people are good and when they're bad. Gut feelings, you know. And my gut feeling about you is that you're a good person in a bad place," Lena stiffened, but he went on, "I want to help you. Give you something to live for, an outlet for all that anger you got inside you. What do you say?"

Lena froze, looking at the man's eyes. They reminded her of Zeke's eyes before the life left them in that gas station two years ago.

"Lena," she whispered.

"Come again?"

"My name isn't Isabelle, it's Lena. Lena Sullivan."

And just like that, Lena Sullivan had found a new family.

**June 11, 2011**

"Yo Lena, we celebrating tomorrow or what?"

Lena Sullivan laughed heartily as she unwrapped the tape from her fingers, her ever present white bracelet on her wrist.

"Andre how many times do I have to tell you?" She called out behind her to her friend, "I don't celebrate my birthday."

"And how many times do I have to tell _you_," the dark skinned Hispanic boy ran up beside her, "That I reject that."

Lena rolled her eyes, tossing the used tape into the trash can and hauling her bag up over her shoulder before turning to Andre. "And I'm okay with that."

The past two years at Jem's had been a whirlwind of change for Lena. The training had been brutal, but she had needed it and Jem had known that. He gave her a new direction, an outlet for everything she had been keeping pent up inside her since Zeke's death. And oddly enough, she was good at what she did now. She could fight better than most guys who had been training at Jem's for years within her first few months there. Jem liked to say it was because of his impeccable training, but Lena had a feeling that it ran deeper than that.

She was built now, lean muscle in places she didn't even know she could _have_ muscle. She had grown more into herself in the past few years, her face narrower, her proportions more evened out, a better awareness of her body. Her hair was shorter, just long enough to throw into a ponytail, but her natural sandy blonde color was still intact.

"Whatever you say, Lena." Andre sighed, grabbing his own bag and heading towards the front door. "One of these years, I'm taking you out for your birthday!"

"Sure thing Andre, whatever you say." She teased, laughing when he rolled his eyes and left the building. It was past closing time, but Jem always let her and Andre and a few other of his favorites stick around longer if they wanted to.

As she headed up the stairs to say goodbye to Jem, who was still in his office, she thought about that night on her twentieth birthday that he had offered her a place here. She'd had no idea then what she was getting herself into. A whole new world of fierce training regiments, aching muscles all day every day, learning all different kinds of fighting styles. But more significant than all of that was the relationship that she'd forged with Jem. He wasn't a replacement for Zeke, no one could fill that gap, but he _was_ a father figure – or maybe a grandfather figure. He cared about her more than he cared about anyone else that came to the gym and he was probably one of the only people that would've stuck with her through those first few months where she wouldn't open up to anyone.

And now, two years later, she had a whole new family at Jem's Gym that she loved as if they were her own blood.

"Jem?" She called out, knocking on the open door to his office. "Jem?" She repeated, not seeing him at his desk chair. Her brow furrowed as she stepped up closer to the desk. The light was on, and Jem never left a room without turning the lights off.

She saw his shoes first. The ratty old loafers that she had begged him to replace a hundred times, but he refused. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw them, somehow knowing that something awful had happened.

"Jem!" She shouted, rushing around the desk to see him sprawled out on the ground face down. "Oh no. No, no, no, don't you dare do this to me Jem." She whipped out her phone and dialed 911, giving them the address to the gym as quickly as she could before hanging up. "Jem?" She asked, turning him over and feeling for a pulse. She felt one, but just barely. "Jem wake up! Look at me!" His eyes fluttered open just a fraction, but she could tell that it wouldn't be long before the life left them just like they did Zeke's.

"Lena," Jem said hoarsely, his chest rising and falling with labored breaths. "You're a… a good girl," he rasped out. "Don't let anyone… tell you different. You're good. Good in here." He raised a shaky hand to point his index finger at her heart.

Lena was shaking, tears falling from her eyes. How many times would she have to do this? Hold someone she loved in her arms as they died?

"You can't leave me," she whispered, her tears landing on Jem's yellow striped shirt that he wore at least twice a week. "I can't lose anyone else."

"I'm sorry, Lenny," he said. Jem was the only person allowed to call her anything other than Lena. "Don't forget that… that…"

But Lena would never hear what she wasn't supposed to forget. Because the light in Jem's eyes left before he could finish the sentence. Her entire body was shaking with sobs at that point, her arms encircling Jem's frail frame as she pulled his lifeless body to her. When she heard the sirens in the distance she looked up, her eyes catching the clock on the wall.

It was 12:18 am. June 12th. She had lost yet another person on her birthday.

And just like that, Lena's world crashed around her all over again.

Lena lifted the bottle of scotch to her lips only to whine in disappointment because it was empty. She tossed it in the sand beside her as she stumbled down the beach. It was still her birthday, still the anniversary of Zeke's death, still the day of Jem's death. No matter how much she willed time to speed up for her, the day just wouldn't pass by any faster. Now she was stumbling down a deserted section of the beach at 3 in the morning, the stars twinkling in the clear sky above her as if nothing was wrong, as if the world was still turning normally even though her entire world was crashing and burning.

She lifted her face to the sky and took a deep breath, her glazed over eyes watering as the sea wind blew.

"Is this what you want?" She cried out to the sky. "Is this what you want?! To see me suffer? To see me in pain? You give me a good life a-and good people just to rip it all away from me?!" Her drunken voice carried, but no one else was around to hear it. "Well if that's what your goal is then you _suck_!" She screamed. "I'm sick of you making my life miserable! I'm sick of you being in control! I'm _sick of it_!"

Lena's breaths were heavy and labored as her anger turned to melancholy. She sank down to her knees in the sand, letting more tears fall. She crossed her arms tightly across her body as if that would somehow hold her together when she was falling apart, digging her nails into her skin hard enough to draw blood.

"I'm sick of it," she whispered.

Lena sat there for a few minutes, letting the wracking sobs turn to silent tears of pure and utter agony. Finally, she stood up, stumbling a few times but eventually getting there. She walked out into the water up to her knees, the salty ocean soaking her jeans.

"You don't get to be in control anymore," Lena muttered, "Not anymore. I decide what happens to me now. Not fate," she walked farther into the waves, "Not destiny," even further, "Not the universe. Me."

Lena pushed her way out past the point where she could touch the sand below her, the choppy waters soaking her from head to toe. She spluttered out salt water as a wave slapped her in the face. Eventually though she swam out past where the majority of the waves from the tide were coming in and the water was calmer. She looked behind her and saw that she was farther out than she realized, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She treaded the water as she looked back up at the sky, the endless stars.

"My fate is in my hands," she whispered to the universe.

And just like that, Lena's head dipped below the waves and she let the ocean take her.

Everything is silent when you're underwater. It feels as though the endless sounds of the world cease to exist, making everything seem so much simpler. That was what Lena was thinking to herself as she slipped deeper and deeper into the depths of the ocean, hoping that it was true that drowning was supposed to release some chemicals that actually gave you the feeling of joy as you died.

But she never got the chance to find out because suddenly she was engulfed in a light so bright it hurt her eyes even more than the salt water already was. She lifted her head, her hair floating around her in the water and saw that the light was only around her, as if she were in a tunnel.

Her lungs were burning as she squinted her eyes, her body so desperate for oxygen. Just as she was about to slip into unconsciousness though, the light began to pull on her, dragging her up towards the surface.

_No_, she weakly thought to herself, her entire being so exhausted. _No, let me do this_, she begged.

But the light had a hold on her now, pulling her rapidly up through the water and to the surface. Lena vaguely registered that something was _wrong_, so wrong, but all she could do was go limp and let the light do what it willed.

And as Lena broke the surface, she inhaled deeper than she ever had in her entire life, the oxygen feeling like the best and worst thing in the world as it entered her deprived lungs. And the second she took that breath, she was gone.

Years later, Lena would deny screaming as the light pulled her up and out of the Earth's atmosphere, flinging her through the endless space of the universe, but she remembered clear as day just how loud she had shrieked. It was the most terrifying thing that had ever happened to her – being swept through the stars. All she could do was scream as her body was yanked off of the earth and to another world in a matter of mere seconds.

And mere seconds it was. One second she was being lifted out of the Gulf of Mexico and flung through space, and the next she was landing on a hard surface, her knees bearing the majority of the fall. She fell to her stomach, her wet clothes feeling as if they weighed a ton. She coughed and spluttered out the leftover salt water from her lungs. Her throat was burning, her vision was blurry, and her ears were ringing. The word 'disoriented' had never been so applicable than in that moment.

Driven by instinct, Lena began to crawl by pulling herself across the glass surface beneath her by her forearms. As her vision cleared she realized she had crawled upon a pair of brown boots with gold metal designs on them. In between the two boots was the glinting tip of a huge sword. Lena raised her head tiredly, feeling completely sober but completely miserable. Her eyes followed the boots to a pair of brown pants, up to metal armor and an incredibly broad chest, to the hilt of the sword being held by two massive dark hands, and finally to a man's face. He was black, his skin beautiful and dark, a gigantic gold helmet on top of his head. And his eyes were… yellow? Orange?

"What the hell?" Lena rasped out, feeling her body start to give in to the exhaustion.

The man gave what looked like a wry and slightly terrifying smile. "Welcome to Asgard, Magdalena Sullivan." He said in an unusually deep voice.

Lena's eyes rolled in the back of her head as she passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**A/N: Woooo, we're on Asgard :) Really excited about where the story is going from here. Review please!**

"_Is she quite alright? She looks a bit pale." _

"_Coming from you, brother? That is rich." _

"_Both of you, be quiet. She will be perfectly fine, she simply needs to rest. Midgardians have reacted this way to the Bifrost before in the past, she will be fine."_

"_Ah, but she is only part Midgardian, Mother."_

"_You do not have to remind me of that Loki, I am fully aware." _

Lena's mind was spinning. Her whole body felt limp, she couldn't even open her eyes. She could hear though, and so far she knew that there were at least three people in the room with her, wherever she was.

_What happened to me_? She thought to herself. The last thing she could remember was being sucked up out of the ocean by a bright light and then everything moved so fast – _so_ _fast_ – and then there was the tall man with the sword and the strange eyes, and then… nothing. Just darkness. _Did I pass out_?

"_Has Father been down here since she arrived_?" One of the male voice finally spoke deeply, breaking the silence.

"_No_." A sharp voice replied – a woman. They both had accents that sounded English, but also… off. Lena couldn't quite pinpoint it_. "He took one look at her when Heimdall brought her to me, then disappeared."_

"_And it is now your responsibility to care for the result of his infidelity while he neglects her_?" A different male voice asked incredulously. "_Mother, she is not your child." _

"_She's just a girl."_

"_A girl that does not belong here!" _

"_Loki,_" the other male admonished, "_She is our sister_."

"_A sister whom we just found out about! Does that not perturb you in the slightest, Thor?" _

"_Of course it does, brother. But she–"_

"_Hush, both of you. She's waking up."_

Sure enough, Lena took a deep breath, willing herself to feel each of the muscles in her body that she knew so well – to take control over body once again. Her fingers twitched at her sides, her hands curling into fists before relaxing. Her eyes opened slowly, blinking. Her entire body felt heavy, but her mind was starting to wake up.

_Where am I? Who are these people? What happened? _

Jem's voice drifted into her head_. Always be aware, Lenny. Aware of what's going on around you, in front of_ _you, and behind you. If you're in danger, you get your hand on a weapon. If you can't get a weapon, you_ _use your fists. You know how._

Lena's eyes opened fully and she grunted as she gained more consciousness and control over the rest of her body. She was waking up quickly, her mind whirring as she turned her head to the right. She was lying on a table, the room around her huge and lavish, unlike any hospital she had ever seen. Gold curtains hung on the walls, shelves upon shelves of glassware with different colored liquids all around. There was a table about four feet away from her with various metal instruments.

Her body tensed at the unfamiliarity, but Lena willed herself to be calm as she turned her head to the left. There she saw the three people she had heard speaking. The closest to her was a tall brunette woman who looked to be in her 40s or 50s and was absolutely stunning, her hair pulled back in an intricate braid. She was wearing a floor length blue gown. Behind her was an incredibly tall man with shoulder length blonde hair and a neatly trimmed beard. His eyes were bright blue, she could see that even from where he stood. But what surprised Lena the most was his attire. He was wearing armor. As in warrior armor she had seen in history books. Even stranger was the third person, a lanky pale man with slicked back hair as dark as a raven's feathers. His attire was equally as strange, a long green tunic of some sort that made him look stark white. While the other two looked concerned towards her, this one looked severely indifferent.

Lena cleared her throat, making the woman and the blonde straighten up.

"Are you wearing a _cape_?" She finally asked incredulously, making the blonde man burst into deep, hearty laughter. Which was just what she wanted.

"Did you hear that? The first thing she asks is if I–"

But he was cut off as Lena used his distraction to roll her body off of the right side of the table. She immediately reached for the table of metal instruments, her gaze going to the sharpest ones and grabbing them greedily. She spun around to see the three looking at her in shock – well, actually just the two. The one in green still looked bored, but there was a trace of amusement on his features.

Lena gripped the two makeshift weapons in her hands, holding them the way Jem had taught her.

"Stay the hell away from me," Lena hissed as the woman took a step towards her. The woman held her hands up.

"We mean you no harm, Magdalena," she said in a calm voice. "I understand that you may be very confused, but be rest assured that we only wish to help you."

Lena's jaw was clenched tight, her body coiled tight like a spring.

"Would you look at that," the man wearing green said, "The little Midgardian wielding a scalpel like a real weapon. How very interesting."

"It's sharp enough to gauge out your eyes, greenie," Lena hissed, making his eyebrows shoot up in offense followed by amusement.

"Loki, enough," the woman scolded him.

_Loki_? Lena thought, _Who names their kid Loki? And what the hell is a Midgardian_?

"But Mother, look at her." Loki pushed himself off of the wall and started walking towards Lena, who gripped the scalpels tighter. "She thinks herself a fighter. I say let the girl–"

But Loki never finished his sentence because Lena expertly flung the knife at him, aiming for his left shoulder. That would be enough to catch the three off guard so she could dart out the doorway only about fifteen feet away from her. And it would have worked too, had he not vanished into thin air just before the knife reached him.

"I… what?" Lena said breathlessly, staring at the space where he disappeared. "That's not possible."

"Oh but I assure you it is."

Lena screamed as his voice rasped into her ear, making her whirl around to see that Loki had reappeared behind her, his eyes quite menacing. Lena flailed away from him, tripping over her own feet and falling to the ground, scrambling away from him as fast as she could.

"Loki that is enough!" The blonde man roared, reaching Loki in just three strides and pushing him backwards. Lena was vaguely aware of the woman who was apparently their mother trying to help her up, but she remained frozen, staring at the man who had just teleported or… something, right before her very eyes.

"Oh come now Thor, I was just having a bit of fun. Besides, she threw a blade at me."

She heard Thor grunt something unintelligible and raise out his hand. Then, even more to Lena's disbelief, a huge metal hammer came flying from across the room into his hand. She made another noise of terror and scrambled away from all of them yet again, pulling herself to her feet only to find herself backed into a corner. Thor and Loki had both turned to face her as well.

"What… are you people?" She asked breathlessly. "You – you disappeared!" She shouted at Loki, who just smirked. "And you made that hammer fly into your hand! What _are_ you?!"

"Please, Magdalena, calm down," the woman pleaded.

"My name is Lena!" Lena screamed.

"Your name," a new voice commanded from the other side of the room, making everyone turn, "Is Magdalena. Magdalena Freya Sullivan." Lena's mouth parted in shock as yet another tall man strode in, head to toe in armor similar to Thor's. He was an older man with white hair that painfully reminded her of Jem's resting at his shoulders, age wrinkles on his face. A gold metal patch rested over one of his eyes, but that wasn't what shocked Lena. What shocked her was his very presence – it suffocating the room, authoritative and commanding.

"How… how do you know that?" Lena asked, cursing herself for having such a shaky voice.

The man raised his chin at her as if he knew everything in the world that she didn't know – which wasn't far from the truth.

"Because that is the name I gave to you." He said matter-of-factly. "Your mother and myself."

Lena's eyes widened and her entire body went slack, her eyes staring at the man, still confused but also aware.

"My name is Odin," he continued, "And I am your father, Magdalena."

**xXxXx**

Lena had imagined meeting her father hundreds of times. When she was a little girl she would stay up late and night and imagine what he was like. She knew a good bit about her mother from Zeke's stories, but her father… he was a mystery.

Sometimes she would imagine that he was a fireman, or a policeman, or a doctor. Other times he was an astronaut, a racecar driver, or a teacher. It never mattered to her what he looked like, what mattered to her was that he was extraordinary. Someone so completely magnificent in whatever he did that she would have to be magnificent too since she was his daughter.

And in all of her daydreams of what meeting her father would be like, Lena always had an image of herself running into her father's arms, hearing him say how he was so sorry for never coming for her for whatever reasons that were of course excusable because her wonderful and extraordinary father would never willingly and knowingly abandon her, right?

And yet despite all those years spent imagining the very circumstance that Lena found herself in – face to face with her father – nothing prepared her for what would actually happen. She didn't run into his arms, she didn't cry, she didn't give or receive an amazing speech about love and the eternal bonds of family.

She laughed.

There was about a two second silence between when Odin said he was her father and when Lena burst into laughter. She doubled over, clutching her stomach and laughing. She could feel everyone's eyes on her and in the back of her mind she knew that she was reacting horribly to this situation that made absolutely no sense, but she just couldn't stop.

"I'm sorry…" she choked out as laughing tears streamed from her eyes, "I just… of course you're… my father… because… what else could happen today…"

"I do believe she's gone mad," Loki remarked offhandedly as Thor himself bit his tongue to keep from laughing at Lena's laughter.

Lena threw her head back and cackled as she thought about how horrible everything was. It was either laughter or sobbing at that point, and she had chosen laughter. As she stumbled back against the wall and tried to breathe through her chortles, she realized that June 12th was a horrible, horrible day. Her mother's death, Zeke's death, Jem's death, what was supposed to be _her_ death, but was now the day where she had apparently been sucked into another universe (and yes she had finally accepted the fact that she was definitely _not_ on Earth), only to meet her _father_ while he was wearing a _cape_.

"That is enough!" Odin roared quite suddenly, causing everyone – Lena included – to look up at him. He looked furious, his one eye full of rage and frustration, though Lena wasn't sure it was directly aimed at her.

Lena finally managed to calm herself down, but she still had a shit eating grin on her face and her shoulders were shaking.

"Okay _Pops_, whatever you say," she muttered, which only made her break out into the giggles again.

"Odin, she is in shock." The woman walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "She's very confused, I think that–"

"Oh no I'm not confused," Lena interrupted sarcastically. "Well okay maybe a little bit, but I think I can figure it out. I'm on another planet, you guys are aliens, –" Loki scoffed at that, "– and you're my father. What's confusing about that?"

"_We're_ the aliens? I would hold your tongue if I were you, you little–"

"Loki," Odin said sharply, cutting him off. Loki fell silent immediately. "Leave us, all of you," he said to the other three. They all hesitated, but eventually did as he commanded.

Lena straightened up as the others left the room, every trace of her laughter gone. She looked across the room at the man who claimed to be her father with a solemn expression.

"Who are you?" She asked boldly.

"My name is Odin. I am the ruler of the Realm of Asgard, which you are in," he said bluntly, no trace of emotion in his voice though his facial expressions betrayed his anxiety.

"Wait back up," Lena raised her hand, "Realm? I'm in a different… _Realm_?"

"Yes, you are," he said, "And I can explain exactly why you are here and answer any questions you may have if you would only allow me."

"Well if you're the king here or whatever couldn't you just make me do whatever you ask?" Lena asked with an attitude. She thought she saw the corner of Odin's mouth twitch, but she couldn't be sure.

"After what I have done to you, my dear Magdalena," he said gravely, "I will not force you to do anything you do not wish to."

"Okay first of all," Lena spat, taking a step forward, "My name is _Lena_. And secondly, I'm not your dear, okay? I'm not your anything, I don't even know who the hell you are or where the hell I'm at. But I _would_ like to know the answers to those things, so start talking."

"You are so like your mother," Odin said quietly, in a voice that would have broken Lena's heart in any other circumstances. "Camille was so spirited, so energetic. So beautiful. I loved your mother, I truly did. She was my greatest sin."

"What do you mean?"

"Asgard, the Realm you are currently in, is beyond the galaxies your world has knowledge of," Odin said gravely. "For the past 22 years you have lived on what we call Midgard – Earth. 23 years ago I left Asgard and travelled to Midgard, in search of an ancient artifact. What I found instead though, was your mother.

"Camille Beth Sullivan was an exquisite beauty," he continued, pacing. "You look much like her. She was younger than you when we met. She was a wanderer, desperate to see all that her world had to offer. Meanwhile I wanted to show her everything that the _universe_ had to offer."

"So you knocked her up and then came back here to your real family?" Lena snapped. "Yeah, I noticed how that woman touched you before. She's your wife, isn't she? And blondie, he's your son?"

Odin sighed, pacing across the length of the room. "Yes, Frigga is my wife. Thor and Loki are both my sons."

"How could you do that?" Lena whispered. "How could you do that to your family?"

"I have been alive for a very long time, Mag – Lena. Beyond centuries." Lena blanched, but he continued, "And yet I have only experienced true love twice. I could not will myself not to love your mother the way that I did, she brought out a great weakness in me. And when she became pregnant with you I was thrilled."

"Until you remembered that you had a wife that might be a bit pissed that you cheated on her," Lena snapped.

"As I said, Camille was my greatest sin. I did not abandon her though. I made frequent trips to Midgard throughout her pregnancy. I was with her when she… when she died."

"So you didn't abandon _her_, you just abandoned me."

Odin looked as if she had slapped him, an odd expression to see on a man who obviously carried an air of authority.

"I wanted you to have the life that you deserved, I thought that–"

"You thought that if you brought me back here your family would find out what you had done?"

"No!" Odin roared, making Lena take a step back away from him in fear. It was silent for a few seconds as he collected himself. "No," he said in a much quieter voice, "That is not why I did what I did. Camille never wanted her child on Asgard, she wanted you to be as she was. When she died, your only living relative was your uncle. I sent Heimdall after him so that he would take care of you, keep you safe. I provided for you–"

"The money," Lena gasped. "That's how Zeke had all of that money. Is that your copout? That you sent me _child_ _support_?" She asked incredulously.

"Your uncle had no money, no future, and no relationship with his sister. I provided for him so that he could provide for you," Odin explained. "I sent Heimdall with instructions and then vowed that I would never interfere with your life again. You would be a Midgardian and nothing more."

"If you weren't supposed to ever be in my life then why the hell am I here?" Lena hissed, hitting the heart of her frustration.

Odin hesitated. "Heimdall is the watcher of the realms," he said slowly, "He sees everything that happens across the entire span of the universe, and he knew of my indiscretions as I made them."

"Sounds like a peeping Tom," Lena scoffed.

"After your mother passed and your uncle took you in, I asked Heimdall to always keep watch over you. And if and only if your life was in immediate danger was he to interfere. He brought you here by way of the Bifrost when you were drowning."

"Bifrost?"

"A bridge between worlds."

"Yeah well your bridge is hella disorienting," Lena muttered, leaning back against the wall and raising her eyes to the gold dome ceiling above her. A few silent seconds passed. "So I'm not really… human?" She finally asked.

"Not precisely, no," Odin replied in his gravelly yet firm voice. "You are part-Asgardian."

"And you're the… king here?" Lena asked, anxiety creeping into her bones.

"Yes. And my wife and sons welcome you with open arms. They are aware of my indiscretions."

"Can I go home?" Lena suddenly asked. "Like, am I stuck here or does your bridge have two-way traffic?"

Odin smiled, though briefly. "You may return to Midgard if you so choose. Though…" he hesitated, "I do wish you would remain here. Allow me to get to know my daughter who I so terribly neglected for the past 22 years. Allow me to show you the world that you were meant to be a part of. Allow me to right my wrongs."

Lena was frozen. She stood stock still, staring at the man who was her biological father.

"This is crazy. Yesterday I was a semi-normal girl. I had friends, I had Jem… I had ambition. Then Jem died and I…" She looked up at Odin only to see that he was thoroughly confused, but choosing not to interrupt. "Never mind," she shook her head, "It's just… Everything I know is being flipped upside down and I don't know if I can handle it," she said honestly.

Odin took a cautious step towards her. "Lena I may have been absent all of your life, but I do know one thing about you. You are your mother's daughter, I can see it all over your face. You have her courage, even if you do not realize it. Camille Sullivan was able to handle anything, and I believe you have that same gift."

Lena took a deep breath. "Okay," she finally said. "But I have a few conditions." Odin raised his eyebrows but gestured for her to go on. "First, if I decide I want to leave, I have to be able to go back to Earth whenever I want."

"Of course. You are not a prisoner here," Odin said firmly.

"Good. Secondly, if I have any questions about my mother, you have to answer them honestly and truthfully."

Odin smiled at that request and nodded. "I will gladly do so."

"Thirdly," she took a deep breath, "You have _got_ to tell me how greenie did that disappearing act."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**A/N: Still no Clint, but NEVER FEAR! He's coming very soon :) Please review!**

Lena Sullivan had always considered herself open-minded. She never really dwelled on hard-hitting topics such as extraterrestrial life, but she also never claimed that it didn't exist. She would believe it if there was proof most definitely.

So when she was shown proof… boy did she believe it.

"Holy crap!" Lena shouted for what was most likely the hundredth time since she had conceded to Odin's request the day prior that she remain on Asgard for the time being, peering over the edge of the railing of their… palace, or whatever they called it. She turned and looked over her shoulder at Thor and Loki, who were in charge of showing her around that day. "Do you see this? Like, do you _see_ this?"

"We've seen it for the past several centuries you mundane child," Loki muttered, rolling his eyes. He hadn't been too pleased when his mother – who actually seemed genuinely concerned for Lena's well-being considering she was the result of her husband's adultery – had assigned them to be her tour guides of sort. "It is nothing new to us."

"Brother, let her be," Thor said jovially, knocking his brother in the shoulder teasingly though Loki didn't seem amused. "We have long outgrown our wonder at Asgard's beauty, Lena's awe at its magnificence should remind us of what we no longer see."

"This is crazy," Lena continued, completely ignoring the two brothers – _her_ two brothers, she reminded herself. "So out there, past the Bifrost," she pointed as Thor approached to stand at her side, "It just ends? There's nothing?"

"Yes. That is the end of our world. Beyond that lies space that can only be travelled by way of the Bifrost."

"Insane. I can't believe it," Lena murmured, her eyes lighting up with wonder.

The day before, Odin had formally introduced her to his family – _her_ new family – and only briefly covered the basics of Asgardian culture as he took her to their palace. She received several stares from those that she passed as they left the infirmary of sorts, realizing only then that she looked like an outsider to everyone. Still clad in skinny jeans and a plain shirt, stiff from the salt water she had tried to drown herself in, Lena had looked drastically different compared to the women in long dresses and fancy hairdos. But while she normally would have dwelled on that and succumbed to the insecurity, she had been too busy staring at everything with her jaw dropped.

Asgard was beautiful. And not like the beauty she had seen on Earth, a different kind of beautiful. Everything shined with a different sort of light and made Lena feel as if she were in a dream world. But she knew that it was very much real considering how many times she had pinched herself.

After pulling her through the castle while she pointed out every amazing thing she saw – much to Thor and Frigga's amusement – she had been allowed to clean herself up (in a gold bathtub no less) and dress in typical Asgardian clothing, which meant a floor length deep red gown. Of course there were other options but that one had struck her the most. And while some of the ladies of the palace had offered to do her hair for her, Lena had insisted on keeping it down and in its natural waves. She needed to feel at least some semblance of normalcy considering her entire life had just been flipped upside down.

Odin and Frigga had shown her about the main palace areas then, graciously answering any and all of her questions. Lena was kind enough though to withhold the questions she had about her mother in Frigga's presence. After that, Thor had introduced himself more formally, and Lena liked him well enough. He was huge and a bit terrifying at first glance, but she got the feeling he was just a big goofball that thought a little too highly of himself. Apparently he was next in line to be king, so Lena attributed his slight arrogance to that. Loki's arrogance though, she had no excuse for.

The man was horribly petulant. It seemed as though he was always in a bad mood, which was highly annoying. He was constantly degrading to Lena, calling her a 'simple Midgardian,' or a 'petty human girl.' However, Lena knew how to deal with that kind of behavior in the way that would grind his nerves the most – she simply ignored him. And she could tell that it was getting to him, which made her smirk.

After finally succumbing to the exhaustion of the day's events, Lena had retired to the lavish bedroom chambers and passed out in her gown, not bothering to change. She was up bright and early the next morning though, raring and ready to go. After eating the biggest breakfast of her life at the biggest table she had ever seen, Lena took Thor up on his offer to show her about the city area of Asgard, but not before Odin told her they would be having a feast in her honor that night.

"A feast?" She had squeaked, "Do you mean a 'hey welcome to the family sit-down dinner,' or do you mean a… _feast_?"

"There will be a ball," Odin said firmly, making her eyes widen to the size of saucers, "The people of Asgard deserve to know that there is a new member of their regal family. That there is now a princess of Asgard."

Lena had frozen completely at those words. A princess? She thought to herself. Holy shit I'm not ready for that.

But instead of voicing her concern, Lena managed to force a smile and say she would be back in time to get ready and whatnot. She forced back her anxiety as Thor showed her about the rest of Asgard, willing herself to take everything in and not miss a single detail. She met his friends: Fandral, an incredibly conceited yet kind hearted man who didn't waste any time trying to flirt with her; Hogun, a man of few words – as in zero words, just a nod in her direction; Volstagg, a jovial man with a huge red beard that hugged the life out of her; and finally Sif, a beautiful tall woman who wore armor similar to Thor's, though it accentuated her feminine figure. Lena immediately liked Sif, who took absolutely no shit from the boys and could obviously hold her own. Sif seemed to like her too, saying she was glad there was finally another girl in the group that could show the boys just how fierce female Asgardian warriors could be.

They left the market after that, and that was how she ended up back at the palace with Thor and Loki, the latter having reluctantly joined them at his mother's request. Lena was overlooking the beautiful glass-like bridge that led to the Bifrost.

"So this feast," Lena turned to Thor, willing herself away from the magnificent sight, "What exactly is going to happen again?"

Thor grinned, all white teeth and dimples which contradicted his massive and terrifying frame. "It will be grand!" He said heartily, "Our father will introduce you to the people of Asgard, then you will be ushered in by none other than myself. And after that, we will feast!"

"Thor's favorite part," Loki muttered.

Thor just laughed, but Lena was quiet and disturbingly pale. "I won't have to speak or anything, right? Just stand there and–"

"Look pretty?" Loki interrupted with a smirk, "Don't fret, little sister. You won't have to pretend to be a true Asgardian when everyone knows you're quite the opposite."

Fire flared up in Lena's eyes at his cruel words, and she was about to jump at her own defense when Frigga suddenly walked up.

"Ah Lena, there you are," she said kindly. "I was wondering if you would like me to help you get ready for the feast tonight."

"I… sure," Lena said with a smile. Frigga had been nothing but kind to her, willing to help her understand everything she could about her new home and overcome her anxiety. The least she could do was have some girl time with her. Not to mention she wanted to get away from Loki, whom she shot a harsh glare at as she parted them arm-in-arm with Frigga. Thor said something to him as they left, but she couldn't catch what it was.

They got to Lena's new chambers and she sighed at the sight of it, despite the fact that she'd already spent a night there. The room was huge, at least the size of two of her last apartments put together. The bed was massive, with gold and black coverings. The wall was decorated in beautiful shimmering designs, and there was a chandelier in the middle that cast that distinctly Asgardian shine throughout the room.

"Now what gown would you like to wear?" Frigga asked as she flew open the huge armoire that had been specifically tailored for Lena upon her arrival. "We can have more brought up if none of these suit your tastes, but…"

Frigga continued to speak, but Lena tuned her out. The formal gowns were on the left side of the armoire, and of course they were all immaculate and beautiful, but one in particular stuck out to her.

The gown was deep steel gray with a shine to it – a dark silver, really. It was strapless, the top half a wrap design whereas the bottom half flared at her hips. It was simple, not outrageous or sparkly or anything like that, but it spoke to her.

"That silver one," Lena interrupted Frigga, still zoned out, "It's not too… inappropriate or anything, is it?" She asked carefully, thinking that she hadn't seen any other Asgardian women wearing dresses that showed quite as much skin. While she wasn't one to worry what other people thought of her style, she wanted to be as respectful as possible.

"This one?" Frigga pulled out the dress, holding it out. Lena's eyes widened and the corners of her mouth turned upwards. "Oh no, this is perfect," she smiled kindly.

Over the next couple of hours, Lena cleaned herself up, changed into the dress with the help of some ladies who worked in the palace, but then Frigga insisted on doing her hair. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Frigga's long fingers working intricate braids throughout Lena's thin hair.

"Frigga," Lena finally spoke timidly, hesitating, "I just wanted to thank you for… everything, really. You've been so accepting of me despite my parentage. I might have lost my mind if it weren't for your hospitality – Thor's too."

Frigga scoffed through a smile. "Oh child, you have no need to thank me. You are family. On top of that, you are an Asgardian now. We take care of our one another."

Lena smiled, but it quickly faded as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. "I don't feel like an Asgardian," she admitted, "I feel like the same girl who brings destruction with her wherever she goes. I don't… how am I supposed to tell these people that I'm a part of their royal family or whatever you want to call it when I didn't even know Asgard _existed_ 48 hours ago?"

Frigga sighed, pinning up one last tendril before making eye contact with Lena in the mirror. "You have greatness in you, Lena. You may not see it in yourself, but I do, as does Odin. All of the pain you have faced in your short time has forged a strength inside of your heart that can be unmatched if you only learn how to wield it."

Lena's eyes were wide, her mouth slightly parted. Lena had been fortunate enough to have had two amazing male influences in her life – Zeke and Jem – but never once had she had a mother figure. And it wasn't until Frigga said those words to her that she realized just how much she had needed one.

"Thank you," Lena whispered, her voice full of raw emotion. Frigga smiled back at her genuinely. Lena finally looked away and took a deep breath, willing back the tears in her eyes. "Alright, so walk me through what's going to happen tonight."

**xXxXx**

"You know, I don't think this was such a good idea," Lena said in an anxious voice as Thor led her to the doors outside of the main room where everyone was waiting for her. She could hear Odin giving a speech, but her mind was running too fast for her to pay any attention to it. "Yeah I think this was actually a terrible idea. Nobody in Asgard is going to like me when I puke everywhere, I should just leave. They don't really need to meet me, right?"

Thor laughed, his colossal frame shaking with each chortle. "My Lady Lena – sister – take heart! Your beauty both inside and out will win you the favor of all of Asgard as easily as you have won mine."

Lena rolled her eyes, but there was fondness behind the action. She looked up at Thor in his royal getup, his blood red cape dragging behind him. Though it terrified her to admit it, she could see some similarities between them. Their eyes were similar in color, and they both had the same face shape, with sharp jawlines and a dimple on the left side. It wouldn't shock anyone that they were siblings – well, half-siblings.

"That sounds all fine and good, but what if I trip?" Lena asked incredulously as they came to a stop outside of the two double doors, Odin's voice rattling in her ears despite the barrier. She could feel the eyes of the two guards standing there looking her up and down and she fought back a smirk, knowing that she looked pretty damn good.

"You will not trip," Thor assured her, placing her hand in the crook of his elbow, "I will not let you. Just hold your chin up high, smile, and walk as though you belong."

"But I _don't_ belong," Lena argued.

"Yes, you do," Thor shot back firmly, "You may only be half-Asgardian, but you _are_ Asgardian."

"I wasn't cut out for being a… princess," Lena cringed at the title, "I'm a fighter, I talk when I'm not supposed to, and I sure as hell never wear formal gowns and heels."

Thor laughed yet again, smiling widely down at her. "Then you are most definitely my sister!" He shouted, his eyes glancing at the door as Odin's speech started to wrap up. "You are royalty, Lena. Believe it for yourself, and the rest of Asgard will follow suit."

"_I present to you_," Odin's voice boomed even louder, Lena's eyes widening as the guards opened the double doors, "_Lena, the daughter of Asgard… returned home._"

Lena's eyes widened and her heart skipped as she took in the sight before her. There were people _everywhere_, their faces lit up with excitement, fear, shock, and humor. Lena herself stood frozen, feeling the weight of all the stares. Not one person in the room wasn't looking up at her. Odin sat on his throne, and Frigga and Loki stood on the stairs below the grand golden chair.

Lena finally snapped back to reality as Thor tugged on her arm with his own. She looked up at him with a start and took a deep breath, following his lead and taking a step into the room. The second she did, everyone took a collective breath. Lena looked beautiful, like a princess in her own right. The dress she wore made her look like a diamond gliding across the floor, shimmering as the rest of Asgard tended to do. Odin smiled as the two of them finally reached where he towered over them, standing up from his throne. The room was eerily silent as Thor gave her arm a squeeze before stepping away from her and moving to stand next to Loki.

Lena took a deep breath, remembering what Frigga told her would happen now. She very carefully lowered herself to her knees, making sure not to tear her dress in the process. She kept her hands by her sides and her back straight. She looked up at Odin and raised her chin up like Thor had told her to.

"Magdalena–" Odin began, cutting himself off when he saw Lena's glare and chuckling despite himself, "_Lena_… As the rightful princess of Asgard, third heir to the Allfather, do you swear upon the Nine Realms to dedicate your life to all Asgardians?"

Lena gulped, feeling sweat begin to bead on her temples. She swallowed down the anxiety and collected herself.

"I swear," she said as loud as she could muster through her anxiety, her voice slightly cracking. She could see Thor smiling out of the corner of her eye, and Loki looking annoyed as per usual.

"Do you swear to honor your royal blood? To defend this Realm with your life?"

"I swear," Lena replied again, though her voice actually sounded confident that time. She _did_ vow to honor Asgard and its people – they were her home now.

Odin stared down at her, meeting her eyes with his own. He let a weighty silence descend upon the massive room, and Lena clenched her hands into fists to keep them from shaking, hoping nobody noticed.

"Stand, my daughter," he finally spoke, his booming voice taking on a softness that surprised everyone. Lena stood, thanking the heavens that she didn't fall over in the process. "I, Odin Allfather, hereby proclaim you… princess of Asgard."

Lena was more shocked by the immediate applause than she was by Odin's proclamation, jumping in surprise as every single person in the room put their hands together for her, bringing the noise in the room up to a dull roar. She looked all around her, her mouth slightly parting in shock. Thor's cheers were the loudest, and she even saw Loki slowly putting his hands together for her, though he looked especially perturbed by it.

Eventually Lena's face broke out into a smile, realizing that this was no dream. This was no fantasy. It was her life now. She was the princess of Asgard.

**xXxXx**

Lena double checked that no one was following her as she snuck away from the feast – which, by the way, was just an Asgardian term for 'hella huge party.' She slipped through a door to the far left of the room, chuckling as she heard Thor loudly and drunkenly challenge Fandral to a duel.

The party had only been going on for three hours, but it felt like much longer to Lena considering she was basically a fish out of water. Hundreds of people had come up to her and shook her hand, bowed, curtsied, kissed her cheek – the list of odd greetings went on and on. She had eaten more food than she thought was possible, danced with Thor, Fandral, and Volstagg (Hogun had merely raised his eyebrow at her wordlessly when she had asked him to join her). Sif had pointed out the majority of people whose names she would need to remember, making sure the poor girl was never left without someone she already knew in the throng of people. Sif had also been the one to point out the door she could escape through to take a breather.

Lena liked Sif a _lot_.

She closed the heavy wooden door behind her, leaning back against it and taking a deep breath when the beautiful sound of silence descended over her. After staying like that for a few seconds, she pushed herself away from the door and leaned down to take off her shoes. After that she released her hair from its pins, letting it fall in light waves over her shoulders. She began to wander through the castle, making sure to smile at every guard she passed. Eventually she came to the same balcony she had been at with Loki and Thor earlier that day. She dropped her shoes down beside her and leaned her forearms against the gold railing, her eyes drinking in the sight of the beautiful waters surrounding the Bifrost and the shimmering bridge leading to it.

Feeling suddenly curious and spontaneous, Lena pushed herself away from the railing and hurried down the stairs away from the palace, leaving her shoes behind. Night had already fallen, and the starlight all around her made her dress shine even brighter. She was grinning as she reached the cobblestone-esque walkway the led to the bridge. She looked around and saw a guard on horseback about fifty feet away from her.

"Excuse me!" She called out to him, and he immediately turned, his eyes going wide.

"My Lady Lena," the young man bowed his head atop his horse as she fast-walked over to him. "May I be of service to you? Are you all right?"

"Oh I'm fine," she waved him off with a smile. "I was wondering though… could I borrow your horse?"

A few minutes and an awkward horse mounting later, Lena was riding down the bridge toward the Bifrost, her hair flying behind her and her dress flapping around her. She smiled as she looked out at the beautiful waters below.

The horse slowed as they reached the edge of the bridge, Lena's eyes widening as it trotted up to the massive gold machine.

"Woah," Lena whispered.

"Princess Lena," Heimdall greeted, making her jump as her attention went to him. She grinned as she dismounted the horse much more gracefully than she had mounted it.

"It's Heimdall, right?" She asked with a smile, walking over to him. "You don't seem too surprised to see me."

"I see everything in the Nine Realms, my Princess," he replied in that deep voice of his, his strangely colored eyes piercing her own blue-green ones. "Your arrival was not unknown."

"Oh right, duh. So I uh, I just wanted to come and say hi. So… hi," Lena rambled awkwardly.

Heimdall gave a wry smile, if it could even be called a smile. "Hello," he said.

Lena chuckled, running a hand through her hair and looking past him at the giant golden sphere. "So this is the Bifrost?" She asked as she walked around him and inside the machine, vaguely recognizing the glassy floor that she had none-too-gently been deposited on two days prior.

"Yes. The Bifrost is the gateway between the Realms," Heimdall replied as he followed her inside, managing to move gracefully even though he was toting that massive sword.

"And it's how you… brought me here?" Lena asked tentatively.

"Yes. I was given orders by my King to bring you to Asgard if your life was ever in peril."

"So you saw me drowning and just whisked me through the universe?" Lena's tone was only slightly bitter.

"Yes."

"Right… and you've been watching me my whole life?"

"Yes."

"That's ridiculous." Lena chuckled, trailing her hand over the walls of the Bifrost, her back to Heimdall, who stood in the middle of the machine. "You're saying you saw my _whole_ life? My first steps? My piano recitals?" She gulped. "Zeke's death?"

"Yes." Heimdall's voice was grave. Lena turned and narrowed her eyes at him.

"You realize how creepy that is, right?" Heimdall didn't reply, but Lena could have sworn that he smirked for a split second. After a few seconds passed Lena relaxed and rolled her eyes jokingly. "So I guess you're kind of like my guardian angel then, huh?"

"More like guardian realm watcher." Heimdall joked, but it was even funnier because his voice was so deep and monotonous. Lena laughed.

"So since you've seen me grow up and all that, I take it you have a pretty solid opinion of what kind of person I am," Lena stated carefully, her eyes betraying her façade of confidence. "Do you think I'm right for Asgard?" Her voice dropped, "Do you think I can do all of… this?" She gestured around her. "Be someone that actually has a say? Be someone that matters?"

"I assure you Lady Lena, you have always mattered," Heimdall said gravely, not hesitating for a second. "Not only have I watched you over the years, I have watched those around you. You have impacted every life you have touched, and you will continue to do so in the ages to come."

Lena was touched by his words, her lips quirking up in a playful smile. "What, you can see the future, too?"

Heimdall did smile then, undeniably. "I cannot see the future, no. But I do know beyond doubt that yours is very bright."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**A/N: This chapter is HELLA long, but I couldn't find a good place to split it so oh well. We pick up with the plotline of **_**Thor **_**in this chapter, so I hope you like that. And there's another familiar face at the end ;) Review please! **

**xXxXx**

**3 MONTHS LATER**

"Oh come now, Volstagg. You're making this too easy!"

With a loud battle cry, Volstagg raised his axe and charged at Fandral, who easily dodged his attack and whacked him in the back with the flat side of his sword. Lena and Sif laughed from where they leaned against a nearby tree in the training fields behind the palace. Thor and Hogun were discussing footwork on the opposite side of the field from them.

"Fandral, stop antagonizing him," Sif called out.

"Yeah, leave him be," Lena added, "Why don't you and I have a go? It's been a while since I kicked your ass."

Thor's boisterous laughter could be heard all the way across the field, and Fandral's narrowed gaze was actually quite fearsome if Lena didn't know any better.

"Alas my dear Lena, I don't think I will ever have a taste for your distinctly Midgardian vernacular," Fandral teased through a conceited grin as Volstagg marched over to Sif and plopped himself on the ground, Lena approaching him with a wry expression. Thor and Hogun joined them as well.

"Well to be frank, Dashing," Lena called him by the nickname he actually found amusing, "I don't quite give a damn if you approve of my vernacular or not," she quipped, earning herself a few "ooo"s from her friends. She grinned, catching Thor's eye.

Oh how three months had changed Lena's life completely. She had a family now – a father, a mother (Frigga had officially claimed her as her own), and two brothers (though one was still quite indifferent to her). She had friends – Fandral, Sif, Volstagg, hell even Hogun chatted with her sometimes when the others weren't looking. She had a confidant – Heimdall had completely gained her trust and she visited him pretty much every day, the only person who truly understood her world because he had watched her grow up in it. But most all, she had Asgard.

Asgard, the beautiful Realm that she had claimed as her own. The streets were familiar to her now, the people recognizable, the politics a part of her day to day life. Odin had entrusted her with so much in such a short amount of time, and she was still learning new things every single day. She knew of all the other Realms and their relations with one another, the guidelines of the use of the Bifrost, the history of the ancient artifacts of Old.

And one of those artifacts Lena effortlessly twirled in her hand as she approached Fandral with a dangerous glint in her eye. She briefly thought back to the day Odin had presented her with her most prized possession just a week after her arrival – her _Gríðarvölr… _

"_Y'know if this is where you give me the birds and the bees talk, I think I've got it covered," Lena joked as Odin led her below the palace to what looked like an armory of ancient artifacts. Odin chuckled ahead of her, glancing back at her with his one eye, his golden patch glittering with the Asgardian shine. _

"_No, this is much more important than that," he replied._

_Lena scoffed. "Well I don't have _that_ much experience with the birds and the bees to be honest, but I'm pretty sure that–" _

"_Here we are," Odin came to a stop, gesturing to a display on the left side of the corridor. The playful grin on her face dropped completely when she turned and looked at what it was. _

_The staff was gorgeous – truly. The most beautiful weapon she had ever seen. It was about three and a half feet long with incredibly intricate weaving designs engraved into the steel. It completely captivated her attention, she physically could not pull her gaze away from it – almost as if it were calling to her. Without even thinking about it, she reached her hand out to the staff slowly, her eyes widening as the engravings began to shine a blue color the closer she got. Just before she touched it though, Lena snapped back to reality and stepped away quickly, turning to face Odin to see that he was staring at her with a wry smile. _

"_I'm sorry," she spluttered, "I don't know why I did that, I just kind of zoned out and–"_

"'_And it shall be so, that only the warrior with the purest heart come back to the Realm shall wield the marvelous Gríðarvölr.'" Odin quoted, making Lena cock her head to the side. "It has been centuries since I have bothered trying to find the warrior whom this staff was built for, but after you were born, I think a part of me always knew it would be yours." _

"_The warrior with the purest heart?" Lena repeated. "I'm pretty sure that's not me, though I am flattered."_

"_Oh but it is," Odin argued, "That staff has never called out to anyone the way it called out to you. It was built for you by the Fathers of Old, before even myself."_

"_Like Thor's hammer?"_

"_Precisely such. Take it. You shall see."_

_Lena's eyes flitted back to the beautiful staff and she grinned. It just looked so _right_ to her, like it belonged on her person. She slowly reached out, the engravings lighting up once again. The second her hand made contact, Lena gasped. A surge of power ran through her entire body and she gripped Gríðarvölr tight, bringing it closer to her. She held it with both hands, feeling its power surge through her veins. _

_With a movement so fluid she hardly knew it was happening, Lena twirled the staff in her hand and spun around, slicing it through the air as easily as breathing. The staff felt like an extension of her own body, as if it were an addition to her very soul. _

_Breathing heavily, Lena blinked through the haze and looked back at Odin, who was grinning quite uncharacteristically. _

"'_The warrior with the purest heart come back to the Realm.'" He quoted once again. "Gríðarvölr belongs to you now."_

And so it did. Gríðarvölr belonged to Lena and it never left her person. Upon realizing just how significant the staff was to her, Lena had even apologized to Thor for teasing him a few times about carrying Mjölnir around with him all the time.

"I'll have you know, Lena, every time you have, as you say, 'kicked my ass,' when we sparred," Fandral said as the two began to circle each other, "It's because you cheated."

Lena scoffed loudly. "Cheated?" She asked incredulously. "How on earth did I cheat?"

"You're on Asgard, not earth!" Volstagg cried out at her in mock patriotism from his spot on the ground next to Sif. Lena rolled her eyes but didn't turn away from Fandral's smug – yet attractive – face.

"You used your feminine wiles," Fandral explained, "Your beauty was too distracting and I simply had no hope."

"Oh please," Lena drawled, keeping a watchful eye on her friend's footing. "Your shameless flirting gets you nowhere with me, Fandral. I figured you would have learned that by now."

Fandral smirked, raising his eyebrows flirtatiously. "I guess I'm not such a fast learner after all," he winked.

"I guess not."

Lena timed the move perfectly, jabbing Gríðarvölr forward just as Fandral stepped forward with his non-dominant foot, catching him with his weight on his back foot. As he raised his sword to deflect the blow, Lena spun around and kicked out at the back of his shin, bringing him down to one knee with a cry. As he transferred his sword from one hand to another her staff caught the hilt and tossed the blade a few feet away from them where it clattered to the grass. A second later she had moved to stand behind him, holding Gríðarvölr horizontally at his throat. Fandral gulped.

"Brilliant!" Volstagg cheered, as did the others. Thor was laughing the loudest of course as he clapped his hands together.

Lena chuckled, pulling her staff away and offering Fandral a hand. He rolled his eyes at her before accepting it and letting her haul him back up to his feet.

"Well played, Lena." Loki's voice speaking right in Lena's ears made her jump and spin around, hand gripping Gríðarvölr tight. She didn't think she would ever get used to his little appearing and disappearing acts. He laughed at her reaction. "Still jumpy then, sister? Can't quite get the Midgardian out of you yet?"

Lena sneered, extending Gríðarvölr out from her body and pushing him away to put some distance between them. "Oh shutup, Loki. What do you want?"

"Well the coronation is just mere hours away and yet you…" He looked her up and down with his lips pursed, "Don't look quite ready."

Lena had to bite her tongue to keep from making a smart remark. Of course she wasn't ready for Thor's coronation ceremony, she was in her training gear – technically armor, but that was too weird for her to say. She was dressed similarly to Sif, except her leather-esque pants were black, and her boots and vest were silver. Fandral always teased that each of Odin's children had a color that they claimed as their own – Thor's was red, Loki's was green, and Lena's was silver. He wasn't necessarily wrong.

"Oh leave her alone brother," Thor walked up, clapping a hand on Loki's shoulder much to his brother's chagrin. "Today is a happy day – the greatest day of them all perhaps!"

Loki muttered something under his breath that no one could hear as Thor continued rambling about how it was such an honor and a privilege to be becoming the rightful King of Asgard and blah, blah, blah. Lena loved Thor, she really did, but his arrogance and realm-sized ego could be overwhelming at times.

"Sif," Lena interrupted Thor's speech impatiently, getting her friend's attention, "Would you like to join me and get away from the suffocating stench of manly ego?"

"Oh that would be grand," Sif said enthusiastically as they left the boys and headed back up to the palace. "Have you figured out any more tricks with that staff of yours?" She asked conversationally a couple minutes later.

"Not since a few weeks ago," Lena answered.

Gríðarvölr was still a mystery to her despite her deep connection with the weapon, and it had many tricks up its sleeves. A month after Odin had presented it to her, Lena learned that she could draw the weapon to her hand by sheer force of will in the same way that Thor called Mjolnir to his hand, though only when it was in relatively close proximity. Then just a few weeks prior she had learned in the middle of a duel with Hogun that she could shorten or lengthen the staff from its default length as well. With that being said, Lena tightened her grip on Gríðarvölr and it closed in on itself, shortening to only about a foot and a half long. She grinned and sheathed it in her belt.

"Are you alright, Lena?" Sif asked in a concerned tone as they marched up the steps, passing a few of the guards.

"Oh I'm fine," Lena replied. "Just exhausted is all. The past three months have been a whirlwind and now everything is changing all over again after I just got used to how things are." She shrugged.

"I can't imagine what you must be feeling. But you still have all of us, you know. Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun, and myself. And I know that Loki can be quite irritating, but he isn't all bad. And Thor adores you. Don't fret too much. He will still be the same man after he takes the throne."

Lena sighed. "That's exactly what I'm worried about."

**xXxXx**

Lena tapped her foot impatiently from where she stood on the steps next to her father's throne. The room was gathered with thousands of people, all waiting to see Thor become the crowned King of Asgard – to take his father's place. Lena was still new at all of this, but she had gotten fairly used to standing next to the throne basically any time something significant happened in Asgard – which was quite often considering she had only lived there for 3 months thus far.

"Relax, Lena dear," Frigga whispered next to her, wrapping an arm over Lena's shoulders. She was clad in a gorgeous gold dress that was studded with priceless jewels no doubt. Lena herself had opted for comfort combined with elegance, sporting a sophisticated yet simple gray one-shoulder dress with a long sleeve. "No need to be nervous."

Lena chuckled, shaking her head. "I'm not nervous, I'm impatient. Aren't we supposed to eat after this?"

"Always thinking about food, my child." Odin smiled down at her from where he sat on his throne several steps above them. It was amazing how close Lena and her father had become considering he had been absent for the first 22 years of her life – ruling another realm and all that. "You are certainly your brother's sister."

"Speaking of said brother," Loki muttered from the other side of Frigga as Thor finally stepped out in all his glory.

"Here we go." Lena muttered, catching Loki's eye and raising an eyebrow in surprise when he actually seemed to smirk back at her in a friendly way. But it must have been a trick of the light.

The room erupted into applause and of course Thor drank it all in. He was decked out in his royal armor, the giant silver winged helmet on his head, his red cape dragging behind him. It would never cease to amaze Lena that he never tripped on the blasted thing. He thrust his hammer into the air a few times, shouting and holding his arms out as he took in every bit of adoration from the crowd, encouraging more and more applause. Lena paid hardly any mind, choosing instead to pick at the sleeve of her dress. She looked back up after a moment and caught Sif's eye from the other side of the stairs, her friend wearing her nicest armor since she was a warrior of Asgard after all. Sif raised an eyebrow, but Lena just shook her head.

The crowd might have found Thor charismatic and full of enthusiasm, but Lena only saw his arrogance – such an ugly trait. It seemed that Odin had the same sentiment as his daughter, watching his son walk up to the throne with an unreadable expression.

Finally after what seemed like ages, Thor knelt down at the base of the stairs and dropped his hammer to the ground beside him, taking off his helmet and shaking out his hair. He looked up with a dazzling smile, shooting a wink at Frigga and another one at Lena.

Odin stood up slowly and the crowd quieted immediately as he banged his staff on the ground, his presence engulfing the room.

"Thor. Odin son. My heir. My first born," Odin began in his deep, commanding voice. "So long entrusted with the mighty hammer Mjolnir, forged in the heart of a dying star. Its power has no equal. As a weapon to destroy, or as a tool to build. It is a fit companion for a King." Lena looked back down at Thor to see that he had taken on a solemn expression. "I have defended Asgard and the lives of the innocent across the Nine Realms, since the time of the Great Beginning. And now the day has come for a new King..." He paused dramatically. "Do you swear to guard the Nine Realms?"

"I swear," Thor replied loudly.

"And do you swear to preserve the peace?"

"I swear," Thor's voice boomed louder.

"Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition, and to pledge yourself only to the good of the realms?"

"I swear!" Thor raised his hammer in the air theatrically.

"Then on this day, I, Odin Allfather, proclaim you…"

Lena's brow furrowed in confusion as Odin froze midsentence. At first she thought it might be for effect, but his posture was rigid. Thor was obviously concerned too, as were all the other warriors and Loki and Frigga. She was just about to step forward when he suddenly whispered ferociously.

"The Frost Giants."

Lena tensed, her mouth parting in shock as she looked across the staircase at Sif, who looked just as stunned. Lena had of course learned all about the frost giants, but _in_ Asgard? It was unheard of. Impossible, even.

Odin got an even graver look on his face before banging his staff down before him, and Lena's entire body tensed because she knew what that meant. He had summoned the Destroyer, which meant that somebody had gotten into the armory – the same place that Gríðarvölr had been kept for several past centuries. If the Frost Giants got their hand on even one of those weapons…

Lena moved at the same time Thor did, springing into action and following Odin as the Allfather jumped from his throne and swiftly exited the room, Loki lagging behind them but following all the same. Sif and the Warriors Three were trying to calm down the crowd as they left through the set of doors behind the throne.

Lena had already unsheathed Gríðarvölr from where she had strapped it to her thigh underneath her dress, drawing it to its full length as they burst into the weapons room, Odin at the front. The engravings on her staff lit up as her body tensed for a fight.

The room was freezing, ice all over the ground with guards frozen solid in every corner of the room. Lena gulped as the Destroyer stepped back into its little protective prison when they made their way further inside. Lena looked over and made eye contact with Loki, who looked like a deer caught in headlights. Thor on the other hand looked absolutely murderous as they marched through the armory.

Lena caught sight of a guard on the floor that wasn't completely frozen and she rushed over to him, kneeling down and checking for a pulse.

"Dammit," she hissed under her breath when she didn't feel one.

"The Jotuns must pay for what they've done!" Thor shouted suddenly, looking around him for support. Lena stood up slowly, goose bumps arising on her arms though she didn't think they were just from the cold.

"They have paid. With their lives," Odin said gravely, standing in front of the Casket with his back to his children. "The Destroyer did its work, the Casket is safe, and all is well."

"All is well?" Thor scoffed. "They broke into the Weapons Vault! If the Frost Giants had stolen even one of these relics–"

"But they didn't," Lena interrupted, trying to keep her tone neutral. Thor was desperate for war, and she had an idea of where his logic was taking him. "Nothing was stolen, the threat was eliminated."

"Well, I want to know why," Thor spat, making Lena raise an eyebrow at his attitude. Loki just looked uncomfortable.

"I have a truce with Laufey, King of the Jotun," Odin replied.

"He just broke your truce! They know you're vulnerable."

"What action would you take?" Odin turned on Thor.

"March into Jotunheim as you once did, teach them a lesson," Thor said harshly.

"Thor are you even hearing yourself?" Lena asked. "You want to punish all of Jotunheim just because you can?"

"Stay out of this Lena," Thor snapped at her, "You easily forget that you still know next to nothing about Asgard."

"Do not speak to your sister that way," Odin barked harshly, surprising Lena with his defensive tone.

Thor paused for a moment, but not long enough to consider the consequences of his words. "If we march into Jotunheim we can break their spirits so they'll never dare try to cross our borders again!"

"You're thinking only as a warrior!" Odin shouted.

"This was an act of war!"

"It was the act of but a few, doomed to fail."

"Look how far they got!"

"We will find the breach in our defenses, and it will be sealed," Odin said with finality, but Thor couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"As King of Asgard–"

"But you're _not_ King!" Odin all but screamed, making Lena jump and Thor's face fall. "Not yet," he tacked on. "Now leave. We will discuss the issue of your coronation later."

Thor looked as if he was going to say something else, but changed his mind when Loki put a hand on his arm. He jerked away from Loki and spun on his heel, storming out of the armory. Loki hesitated, but eventually followed.

The silence between Lena and Odin was deafening.

"Your brother," Odin finally spoke, his back facing Lena, "Has lived many, many years. And yet he is as immature today as he was when he was a child."

"Then why are you crowning him king?"

"Because I am tired," Odin admitted, allowing himself to be honest with his daughter where he wouldn't be anywhere else. He turned to face her, smiling fondly. "Perhaps I should crown you instead. Any woman who can bravely wield Gríðarvölr while wearing a gown deserves to be Queen."

Lena laughed at that, shaking her head and shortening her staff. "Right, that wouldn't cause any problems at all. Put the 22 year old half-breed that hasn't even been here a year on the throne."

Odin's smile fell. "You are no half-breed, Lena. You are an Asgardian."

Lena sighed. "I know, I didn't mean to call myself that. It's just," she looked around the room, her eyes drifting to the dead guard she had tried to find a pulse on, "This should scare me more than it does. I should be terrified over giants and Destroyers and intruders… but I find that I'm more concerned with this dead guard." Odin raised his eyebrows as she pointed to where the guard lay on the icy floor. "Did he have a family? Was he married? Who is going to tell his kids that he died protecting this armory?" She gestured to the rest of the room. "Thor is focused on revenge, but I can't stop thinking about honor."

Odin was completely silent, absorbing his daughter's words. For such a young person by Asgardian standards, she had a wisdom that went even beyond him in some areas.

"And even though I say that, I think you're wrong about him," Lena continued, "You're wrong about Thor. He isn't immature, he's narrow minded. His worldview is so limited that he can't even fathom that anything could go wrong by his plans because he's never failed. He's excelled at everything, he's been loved by everyone in Asgard – but that love only runs skin deep. He needs to fail in order to succeed. He needs to lose everything that he knows in order to realize what he already has."

Odin's stare was unrelenting, and Lena felt about two inches tall underneath his gaze. Had she overstepped her bounds?

"You speak from experience," Odin stated bluntly, making Lena's eyes go wide. In the past three months Odin had learned the majority of Lena's major life experiences back on earth. He knew of her pain, he knew that she had lost more in her short lifetime than Thor ever had.

"Well," Lena's voice cracked, "I find that that's the best way to speak."

"Right you are, my Lena." He approached her, placing a hand on her cheek and smiling down at his daughter. "You are the purest heart of them all."

**xXxXx**

"Your fretting is only hurting yourself." Heimdall said solemnly – the same way he said everything.

Lena groaned in irritation and threw her forearm over her face to cover her eyes. She was currently lying down on her back in the Bifrost, Heimdall looking down at her with a fond smile that she couldn't see.

The two of them had formed a sort of ritual: every day she would come see him at the Bifrost and talk to him about everything. Things he had seen, things he was seeing, her hopes, her dreams, etc. Lena had found more comfort in the stony persona of Heimdall, watcher of the Realms, than she had anyone else. Despite how wonderful her new family and friends were, she still felt out of place with them, still felt like a rookie. Heimdall however, made her feel safe. He was like a giant, terrifying, sword-wielding teddy bear.

"My fretting is the only thing keeping me sane," Lena mumbled back to him, her hair tangling up behind her. She had changed back into her armor before heading out onto the bridge, thinking she might go do some late night training when she left. Her hand that wasn't slung over her face hovered over Gríðarvölr as it always did when she was stressed.

With a huff, Lena sat up and crossed her legs, looking up at Heimdall with pursed lips. "I feel like I should _do_ something. Maybe… I don't know, speak to Thor and find a way to get him off of this war path he's on."

"Thor is a warrior of Asgard," Heimdall said, "It is all he knows. It is why he is on his way here with his friends to go to Jotun."

"I know he's a warrior, I get it, I really do. It's just that – wait, what did you just say?"

Lena caught a rare glimpse of Heimdall smirking – he was exceptionally good at hiding his emotions – before he turned on his heel and went to stand outside in front of the Bifrost. She jumped to her feet as Thor, Loki, Sif, Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg all rode up to him on horseback.

"Son of a bitch," Lena muttered under her breath, remaining inside the Bifrost while Heimdall talked to her idiot brothers and friends. She knew exactly why they had come. Thor was defying Odin, he was going to go to Jotunheim on his own. But Heimdall would never agree to that, right?

Her hopes were dashed as Thor came barging inside the Bifrost, the rest of the group behind him.

"Lena?" He asked incredulously.

"Heimdall, you can't be serious." Lena ignored Thor, stepping over to Heimdall as the Gatekeeper made his way to the middle of the machine, sword in hand. "You're actually going to let them go on a suicide mission?"

"Speak for yourself, sister," Loki snapped, making her turn to look at him with wide eyes. "If you're not happy about it, then by all means, leave."

"I…" Lena froze, looking around at her friends. Sif in particular was looking at her with wide, pleading eyes. "Oh for goodness sake. You idiots need all the help you can get." She rolled her eyes, pulling out Gríðarvölr and moving to stand behind Sif, the group in a triangle formation with Thor at the head. She looked over her shoulder at Heimdall and nodded once, her lips pursed.

"Be warned," Heimdall spoke as he started up the Bifrost with his sword, crackles of electricity shooting around the interior of the machine. Lena jumped, never having consciously experienced this type of travel. The exterior of the machine began to spin around them. "I will honor my sworn oath to protect this Realm as its Gatekeeper. If your return threatens the safety of Asgard, the Bifrost will remain closed to you. And you'll be left to die in the cold wastes of Jotunheim."

"Geez Heimdall, thanks for sugar coating it for us," Lena muttered sarcastically, making Sif chuckle.

"Couldn't you just leave the bridge open for us?" Volstagg asked.

"To leave the bridge open would unleash the full power of the Bifrost, and destroy Jotunheim with you upon it," Heimdall replied. Lena whipped her head around in shock – she hadn't known that.

"I have no plans to die today," Thor said arrogantly, a stupid smile plastered on his face.

"None do," Heimdall replied.

And with that, Heimdall shoved the sword into the center of the machine and they were all pulled into the light of the Bifrost. Lena's heart leapt as she was catapulted through space, though unlike the last time, she was fully aware of the experience. It was terrifying really, but once she had pushed the fear down, it was also exhilarating. It was like a roller coaster on steroids. She kept her hands by her side, gripping Gríðarvölr tight as her body tensed. She kept her eyes on Thor's flying red cape ahead of her, and just seconds after the journey began, it was over. They came upon the dull blue planet of Jotunheim at the speed of light, crashing to the ground in an oddly graceful way.

The ice cold ground of Jotunheim heaved beneath them as they landed, Lena only stumbling for a brief second before righting herself. _That wasn't so bad_, she thought to herself. _At least I didn't pass out this time_.

Jotunheim was, in a word, awful. It was cold and dry and desolate, canyons of ice all around them. Lena's eyes scanned their surroundings, her face drawn together as she realized that the planet was just a very cold wasteland.

"We shouldn't be here," Hogun said monotonously, his face like stone.

"Let's move," Thor said firmly, ignoring Hogun as they began to walk in a general direction. Ice and rocks fell around them and Lena couldn't shake the sense that they were walking through ruins of something that used to be great.

"All this destruction," she spoke, "Is this from when Odin was here last?"

"Yes." To Lena's surprise, Loki was the one that had answered. "Odin laid waste to this Realm and they never recovered."

"If they never recovered then how the hell did they have the means to get into Asgard?" She asked.

"That's what we're here to find out," Thor weighed in, his voice hard. Lena decided not to ask anything else, choosing instead to think of warm places as she shivered in her thin gear.

"Where are they?" Sif asked a few minutes later.

"Hiding. As cowards always do," Thor muttered. The group slowed down as they came up to a general area that didn't look as laid to waste as the rest of what they had come through. The seven of them spread out, everyone tense.

"You've come a long way to die, Asgardians," a whispering voice suddenly said, seeming as though it were all around them. Lena looked around but didn't see anything or anyone.

"I am Thor, Odin son," Thor boomed, not looking perturbed in the slightest. Lena gripped Gríðarvölr just a bit tighter, drawing on its power for a better sense of courage.

"We know who you are," the voice spoke again in its eerie whisper.

"How did your people get into Asgard?" Thor asked. A silence descended over the area, and Lena looked up and had to bite back a gasp as she saw red eyes appear on a frozen ledge, a blue face turning their way and looking particularly murderous.

"The house of Odin is full of traitors," the giant hissed.

"Do not dishonor my father's name with your lies!" Thor shouted angrily, stepping forward with his hammer raised.

Lena reacted immediately, taking a step closer to her brother. "Thor, don't–"

"Your father is a murderer and a thief," the giant snapped, stepping out of the shadows and into the dim light of Jotunheim – nothing like the shine of Asgard. Lena froze when she saw the giant and took in just how… _giant_ he was. He had to be at least fifteen feet tall if not twenty. "And why have you come here? To make peace? You long for battle. You crave it! You're nothing but a boy, trying to prove himself a man." Lena could tell that the giant's words hit home for Thor, but he gave nothing away that was visible to anyone else.

"This boy has grown tired of your mockery," Thor said slowly, as if he were trying to restrain himself.

More frost giants came out of the shadows then, and Lena's eyes darted all around her. They were vastly outnumbered – shocker. Then to make matters worse, the frost giants armed themselves by creating weapons of ice directly from their hands. Their red eyes glittered with hatred and rage, and Lena could feel her hands shaking out of fear rather than the cold.

She glanced to her left and caught Loki's eye. He looked as worried as she did and he hesitated for just a brief second before taking two large strides over to Thor.

"Thor, stop and think. Look around you. We are outnumbered."

"Know your place, brother," Thor snapped.

"Dammit Thor listen to him," Lena hissed, "Try to look past your anger and think about _us_."

Thor whipped his head around to look at his companions and his face softened for just a brief second before hardening again as the frost giant spoke.

"You know not what your actions would unleash. I do. Go now, while I still allow it," the giant sneered.

Suddenly another giant stepped out directly in front of Thor and Loki, towering over them with its steely and homicidal scrutiny. Lena gulped.

"We will accept your most gracious offer," Loki answered on behalf of Thor, who looked back at him angrily, baring his teeth in discontent. "Come on, brother."

Thor didn't move though, and Lena saw him grip his hammer even tighter, his whole frame almost shaking with pent up anger.

"Thor," she called out softly, just loud enough so he could hear her. When he still didn't move she swallowed down her fear of the giants and stepped up to him, gently putting her free hand in the crook of his elbow and tugging gently. "Hey, come on. Please," she said softly, feeling him somewhat relax under her touch. Despite his anger, she knew that he would protect his friends and family. The only dilemma was that he thought the best way to do that was by taking out the enemy that greatly outnumbered them.

Finally though, he gave in, turning on his heel and letting Lena lead him away from the giants. The others followed suit, and Lena let out a breath of relief that the situation might actually not turn ugly.

And then it did.

"Run back home, little princess," the frost giant that had stepped out in front of Thor and Loki mumbled before they had even taken five steps.

"Damn," Loki said, accurately reflecting everyone's sentiments at that moment. Lena sighed, side stepping away from Thor and muttering, "Go ahead."

He spun on his heel in one fluid movement, swinging Mjolnir with perfect form into the frost giant's towering form, sending the beast flying backwards where it crashed through the frozen ruins. "Next?"

Everything moved very quickly then and Lena felt sure that if she had blinked she would have missed it. Frost giants came pouring out into the middle of the ruins, murder in their eyes and rage in their swings. Lena wanted to hesitate, she wanted to scream, she wanted to run away, but she couldn't. This was what she had been training for ever since Jem had asked if her she knew how to fight over two years ago. This was battle, and battle had no room for hesitation.

Her first attacker came at her from the left, and Lena went down into a crouch as he ran at her, thrusting her staff up and into the giant's chest. Much to her shock, Gríðarvölr shot out blue sparks as contact was made, sending the giant several feet away from her in a heap.

"Well would you look at that," she murmured to herself in surprise.

Time seemed to speed up with each attacker, Lena spinning and twirling Gríðarvölr with a practiced grace that went beyond her years. She could hear Fandral laughing in the background, Volstagg with his battle cries as he swung his axe, Sif with her double sided sword, Hogun with his mace, and of course Thor with his hammer. Loki was also quite the warrior himself, Lena couldn't help but admit. She had trained with these people, they had been the ones to teach her the ways of battle, but she had never contemplated what it would be like to actually fight alongside them. She had never imagined the _thrill_.

"At least make it a challenge for me?" Lena heard Thor call out haughtily as she slid underneath a frost giant's legs and swung her staff around with a vicious hit to its back.

"Thor! Shut up!" She shouted, looking up to see yet more frost giants jump out into what she had dubbed 'the arena,' crashing to the ground with icy lurches. One frost giant in particular roared at Thor, and being the idiot that he was, he roared back. They exchanged blows and Thor was thrown backwards. Lena turned from where she had just distracted a giant long enough for Fandral to impale it with his sword, only to fall to the ground as Thor crashed into her and knocked the breath right out of her lungs. "Ow," she groaned miserably, "Get the hell off of me."

Thor complied, jumping up from the ground and helping his sister up as well. He was grinning manically and Lena couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"If we survive this," she told him, "I'm going to kill you."

Thor only laughed as he went back to taunting his foes. Lena turned just in time to see Sif being knocked to the ground by a giant. "Sif!" She screamed, terror coursing through her veins more for her friend than for herself. Without a second thought, Lena flung Gríðarvölr with every ounce of strength that she had, the staff spinning and cutting through the icy air and hitting its target with a shower of blue sparks. The giant went flying off into the distance, crashing into three others in the process. Lena ran towards Sif, holding her hand out in front of her as Gríðarvölr sailed back to her.

"Sif!" Lena ran over and helped her friend up off of the ground.

"Thanks," Sif told her, eyes wide. "Were those… blue sparks?"

Lena chuckled before loosening her grip on her staff and spinning on her heel, hitting a frost giant in the chin as if she were swinging a baseball bat, the blue sparks igniting the tip of the staff. She looked back over her shoulder at Sif with a smirk. "You learn something new every day."

The fight continued, and Lena could feel herself tiring. She wasn't a full-blooded Asgardian, which meant that she simply didn't have the same stamina as the others. She was caught off guards suddenly when a frost giant picked her up by her hair.

Lena screamed, Gríðarvölr falling to the ground below her as she was lifted up into the air by the fifteen feet tall beast. It spun her around as her legs kicked out at the air, laughing menacingly.

"Trying to play soldier, little Midgardian?" It hissed.

Lena bared her teeth, chuckling through her pain. "For your information," she held out her hand for Gríðarvölr and it sailed into her awaiting palm, "I'm an Asgardian _warrior_." Lena thrust her staff forward, impaling the giant in its sternum. The beast dropped her and she crashed to the ground, landing only semi-gracefully as the now dead giant fell backwards with a crash. She scoffed, shaking out her hair and stepping over it. "I'm a princess too, you brute."

Lena looked around with wide eyes, taking in just how outnumbered they were. Right as she was about to call out to Thor she heard Fandral give a painful cry. She looked over and saw that he had been impaled by a spear made of ice.

"Fandral!" Lena cried. The others ran over to their injured friend as well, Sif taking out the giant who had attacked him. Volstagg and Hogun painstakingly lifted Fandral off of the ice while Thor continued fighting gleefully.

"Thor!" Lena shouted.

"We must go!" Loki yelled as well, making brief eye contact with his sister. He could see how exhausted she was, blood running down the side of her face from where she had been knocked into a column earlier. Her body simply wasn't as resilient as the others. But he wouldn't dare show how concerned he was.

"Then go!" Thor yelled back, catapulting Mjolnir through the air. Lena's eyes followed its path as the hammer took out ten – twenty – _thirty_ frost giants in one go. Her eyes looked back up at the frost giant's leader – whom she had now deduced was Laufey. He looked _enraged_.

Suddenly Laufey thrust out his hand and a stream of ice cracked along the ruins. Lena's breath caught in her throat as she followed the cracks to where a frost giant beast – a monster really – was unlocked from its icy prison – which was directly in front of them.

"Holy crap," Lena whispered.

Volstagg picked up Fandral and threw him over his shoulder as the others began to back away from the creature. "Run!" He screamed, the others not having to be told twice. Lena spun on her heel and took off, she and Sif leading the others and knocking frost giants out of the way to clear a path. Lena heard the creature give a terrifying roar and skidded to a stop, paling when she realized Thor wasn't with them.

"Thor!" She screamed, "Thor!"

"Come _on_," Loki grabbed her arm, dragging her after the rest of the group.

"No, no! We can't leave him!"

"He'll be fine, now _move_!" He retorted. Lena paled and complied as she saw the creature galloping after them, the size of thirty semi-trucks.

They continued to run, Lena's breath coming out in icy gasps. In her mind she couldn't stop worrying about Thor, but she was also terrified for her own life and the lives of her friends. They were almost at the edge of the closest chasm when the monster caught up to them, its weight causing the ice and ruins to crack and fall down all around them. Lena managed to dodge a falling column at the very last second. She was stupid enough to look behind her, stutter stepping when she realized just how close it was, its icy spiked tail coming up and over its body and straight for her. Fortunately Sif shoved her out of the way just in time.

Lighting crackled behind them and Lena cursed under her breath – she was going to slap Thor _so_ hard if they actually made it back to Asgard. Suddenly though there was a booming sound behind them and everyone tripped up as tremors rippled underneath them. The ground they had just covered began to rapidly crumble and disintegrate and Lena pushed her legs even harder. The group jumped over cracks and breaks in the ice, the creature mysteriously disappearing – _hopefully it fell into one of the chasms_, Lena thought to herself.

They finally made it to the edge and came to a skidding stop. "Heimdall!" Volstagg cried out, "Open the bridge!"

Nothing happened and Lena paled. "Heimdall!" She echoed, "Heimdall come on! Open the–"

Lena's words were cut short as she fell backwards, a claw the size of three of her bodies coming up and over the edge of the icy canyon. Hogun came up behind her and dragged her backwards before lifting her to her feet as the terrible beast raised its massive head up at them. It was bigger than she originally thought, its head alone the size of a house. _This is it_, she thought, _This is how I'm going to die_.

It crawled all the way up in front of them, rearing back on its haunches as it opened its mouth and roared awfully. Just as it was about to come down on them though, Thor appeared, flying right into its mouth as Mjolnir tore through the back of the beast's throat. Lena let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding as the creature fell down in a heap on its side. Thor landed dramatically on the ground in front of it in a crouch with his back to the group. The best fell into the chasm, disappearing from sight. Thor turned slowly, a grin on his face.

The smile dropped off of his face though and Lena turned around to follow his gaze. She inhaled sharply when she saw Laufey, followed by _hundreds_ of frost giants. They were backed into a corner and even more outnumbered now. There was no way out and it seemed as though even Thor had realized that.

But just as the giants began to run at them a bright light opened overhead, knocking them all back. Lena shielded her eyes as the bridge between worlds opened in all of its glory, but it wasn't bringing them back to Asgard – it was sending someone down to them.

She blinked away the initial shock of the brightness and saw Odin atop Sleipnir, his steed. Her eyes widened as she saw her father in his armor, holding his spear in his hand. _This can't end well_.

"Father!" Thor shouted elatedly, thrusting his hammer into the air. "We'll finish them together!"

"No, Thor," Lena whispered, wishing we would realize just how foolish he was being.

"Silence," Odin hissed, his disappointed eyes turning from his son to Laufey, who approached the King so that they was hardly any distance separating their stony glares.

"Allfather. You look weary." Laufey taunted.

"Laufey. End this now," Odin replied ominously.

"Your boy sought this out."

"You're right. These are the actions of a boy," Lena watched as Thor's body tensed up, his expression unreadable. "Treat them as such. You and I can end this, here and now, before there's further bloodshed."

"We are beyond diplomacy now, Allfather," Laufey said threateningly, his red eyes vicious. "He'll get what he came for... war and death."

Odin looked weary and ragged. "So be it," he finally said.

_What_? Lena's eyes widened as she saw Laufey's arm ice over as it weaponized itself. "No!" She shouted without even realizing it, stepping forward just as Laufey was about to strike at Odin.

But she was pushed back instead as Odin thrust his spear up into the air, opening the Bifrost once more. A terrible wind threw Laufey away from them and Lena didn't have any time to comprehend what was happening before the Bifrost sucked up her and the others, catapulting them back to Asgard.

They landed back inside the Bifrost mere seconds later, Lena's eyes darting around to makes sure everyone was safe and well. Volstagg and Hogun were still carrying Fandral, who was biting his lip to keep from crying out in pain. Everyone else was fine except for Thor and Odin's angry expressions.

"Why did you bring us back?" Thor asked harshly. Lena wanted to face palm.

"Do you realize what you've done? What you've started?" Odin asked in a harsher voice than Lena had ever heard from where he stood in the center of the great machine.

"I was protecting my home!" Thor shouted.

"You cannot protect your friends, how can you hope to protect a kingdom?" Odin yelled, pulling Heimdall's sword out of the machine and throwing it to the gatekeeper. Lena's fearful gaze shot over to Heimdall and he made brief eye contact with her. "Get him to the healing room! Now!" Odin shouted to Volstagg and Hogun who were carrying Fandral. They left hurriedly, Sif following behind. Heimdall followed them out, leaving only Thor, Odin, Loki, and Lena inside the Bifrost.

"There won't be a kingdom to protect, if you're afraid to act," Thor said austerely. Lena sighed, shortening her staff and sheathing it as she ran a hand through her hair, wincing in pain. "The Jotuns must learn to fear me, just as they once feared you."

"That's pride and vanity talking, not leadership! Have you forgotten everything I've taught you?" Odin snapped. "What of a warrior's patience?"

Lena looked across the Bifrost and met Loki's eyes, asking him the silent question, _What_ _do_ _we_ _do_? He simply shook his head and looked back to his brother and father.

"While you wait and be patient, the Nine Realms laugh at us," Thor said, "The old ways are done. You would stand giving speeches while Asgard falls!"

"You're a vain, greedy, cruel boy!" Odin screamed suddenly, making Lena jump. She had never seen her father this angry – and she had never expected that kind of anger to ever be directed at Thor of all people.

"And you are an old man and a fool!" Thor yelled back instantly, shocking everyone into silence. He himself seemed slightly appalled at his words. A terrible silence descended over them.

"Thor," Lena said softly, working to control her own nerves, "I think it's best if we–"

"Yes," Odin interrupted her in a much smaller voice. "I was a fool to think you were ready." He looked down at Thor in disappointment.

"Father–" Loki finally decided to speak, but was cut off as Odin turned to him and all but growled, rage written all over his aged features. Lena actually felt bad for Loki, the confusion on his face as his posture went rigid. Odin looked to Lena for a brief moment, seeming thoughtful before turning back to Thor.

"Thor, Odin son..." he began, "You have betrayed the express command of your King. Through your arrogance and stupidity, you've opened these peaceful Realms, and innocent lives, to the horror and desolation of war!" His voice raised then as he gripped his spear and used it to restart the Bifrost.

"Odin what are you doing?" Lena asked in a timid voice, her hands shaking.

"You are unworthy of these Realms!" Odin shouted, ripping off pieces of Thor's armor. Lena gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. She knew how significant a warrior's armor was. "Unworthy of your title!" He tore off Thor's cape.

"Odin stop it!" Lena cried, starting to go after them, but Loki caught her around the waist and held her back.

"You're unworthy!" He screamed, Thor's face a picture of agony. "Of the loved ones you have betrayed."

"No," Lena whispered, letting Loki hold her up as she realized what was happening. Odin finally stepped away from Thor and walked a few steps before turning back around in a fury with his hand outstretched.

"I now take from you – your power!" With that, Mjolnir flew into Odin's hands. "In the name of my father! And his father before!" More of Thor's armor fell off of him and he looked utterly devastated. "I, Odin Allfather, _cast you out_!"

"No!" Lena screamed, falling to her knees as Thor was sucked into the Bifrost, disappearing from sight. Loki had let her go at this point, his own face a picture of utter shock. Lena whirled around on Odin, the Bifrost still crackling with electricity. "What have you done?" She screamed at him, but he was whispering to Mjolnir. "That was your son!"

Still ignoring her, Odin reared his arm back and threw Mjolnir into the light of the Bifrost as well, the hammer disappearing. Lena gasped, her eyes darting between Odin and Loki in shock from where she knelt on the ground.

Odin said nothing as the Bifrost whirred down, Heimdall reentering the golden sphere.

"Father–" Loki began.

"Not now, Loki." He snapped, pulling his spear out and beginning to leave, anger in his stride.

"How could you do that?" Lena whispered, mostly to herself. She saw Odin freeze out of the corner of her eye and she looked over at him. "You just banished your own _son_."

"Yes. I did," he spun to face her. "And what course of action would you have taken?"

"Not that!" Lena shouted, scrambling to her feet.

"Was it not you," Odin raised his voice, "Who told me that Thor needed to fail in order to succeed? That he needed to lose everything in order to stop taking what he has for granted?"

Lena's blue-green eyes were furious. "Don't you dare twist my words like that! I never meant banishment for crying out loud!" She looked back to where Thor had disappeared to and shook her head incredulously. "Where is he? Where did you send him?"

Odin huffed, turning on his heel yet again. "Some time on Midgard might do him some good."

"Midgard?" Lena echoed with a shriek. "You sent _Thor_ to _Earth_? Are you _insane_?!"

Odin ignored her, striding out of the Bifrost as he called out to her and Loki, "I will deal with you two and the others tomorrow."

Lena scoffed yet again, turning to face Loki. "We have to do something," she said.

"Like what?"

"We have to bring him back! Heimdall," she turned to her friend, "Tell me you can bring him back."

"I cannot," he answered gravely. "I am under the orders of my king."

"Lena, there is nothing that we can do," Loki said to her firmly. "We can only hope that Odin will change his mind."

"Yeah well that's not good enough," Lena snapped. She fell silent, running a hand through her hair in frustration.

"We should go check on Fandral." Loki said to her, making her look up at him. A pang of guilt shot through her. She had completely forgotten about her injured friend. After a few seconds she sighed and nodded. She would just have to find a way to convince Odin to bring Thor back. She had to.

**xXxXx**

The next day, after a fitful sleep and several tears, Lena sat in a room with Sif, Volstagg, Fandral, and Loki. She was on a golden couch next to Sif, her knees pulled up to her chest. Her hair fell around her shoulders in messy waves. She was too miserable to make herself presentable. She stared straight ahead of her, her eyes dancing in the firelight. Her friends were speaking, but she had tuned them out. Loki's voice brought her back to the present as he spoke for the first time in a while.

"I told him," Lena heard him say. Her head snapped up.

"You told who what?" She asked.

"I told the guard to go to Odin after we had left. He should be flogged for taking so long. We should have never reached Jotunheim."

"_You_ told the guard?" Volstagg shouted.

Lena stood up from her seat slowly, her eyes never leaving Loki. Her posture was rigid, anger coursing through her veins. She was already in a terrible mood because of Thor's banishment put together with the fact that Odin refused to see her, and now to find out that Loki had been a little tattle-tale? She was livid.

"Did you seriously snitch on your own brother?" Lena asked lowly, fighting to control her temper.

"I saved our lives," Loki snapped at her, making her anger only flare up more. "And Thor's. I had no idea Father would banish him for what he did."

"Loki," Sif stood up, "You must go to the Allfather and convince him to change his mind.

"And if I do, then what?" Loki asked. "I love Thor more dearly than any of you–"

"Watch it," Lena hissed.

"–but you know what he is. He's arrogant, he's reckless, he's dangerous! You saw how he was. Is that what Asgard needs from its King?" With that, Loki turned on his heel and strode out of the room.

Lena stood still for a moment, breathing heavily. She felt Hogun come up behind her and place a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down. Before anyone could speak though she wrenched her arm away from him and went after Loki.

"Loki!" She called out as the doors slammed shut behind her. "Loki!" She saw his green coat round a corner up ahead and she jogged after him, but as soon as she rounded the corner herself she realized he had disappeared. "Dammit," she muttered, pushing her hands through her hair. Realizing that she wouldn't be able to find Loki if he didn't want to be found, she made her way to her room, cursing him under her breath.

Once in her room, Lena flopped backwards on her bed, staring up at the golden ceiling. She sighed, letting her eyes slip shut. "What do I do?" She asked herself out loud.

She laid like that for a while, focusing on her breathing and trying to calm down. But how could she? Her brother was banished, her father was an idiot, her other brother was an even bigger idiot, and all she could do was stand by helpless. Meanwhile, Thor was probably meandering around Earth wondering why the hell his own father had banished him to Midgard of all places–

Lena sat up with a gasp. "Midgard," she whispered to herself in the midst of an epiphany. "How could I be so _stupid_?"

She jumped up off of the bed, running over to her armoire and throwing it open, reaching into the very back and pulling out the only remainders of her life back on Earth – the skinny jeans, green V-neck, and black booties she had been wearing when Heimdall had saved her from drowning herself. She changed into them quickly, amazed at how different in felt to be wearing Midgardian clothes after three months of armor and floor length dresses. She grabbed her weapons belt and strapped it around her waist, sheathing her staff and several knives. With one last glance in the mirror so quick she didn't have any time to change her mind, Lena ran out of the room without looking back.

She hustled through the palace, thanking the heavens that she only passed a few puzzled guards and not anyone who might actually try and stop her. Once she was outside she raced to the stables and grabbed her horse, mounting it quickly. It was dusk in Asgard, the sky a mixture of wonderful orange, blue, and pink tints. She would miss that sky while she was gone.

Lena and her horse raced down the bridge leading to the Bifrost, going faster than she had ever gone before in a race against time. Thor had already been on Earth for over a day, there was no telling what had happened to him so far.

She reached the Bifrost in record time, dismounting her horse quickly and striding over to Heimdall with her head high. She stopped right in front of him, her face deadly serious – more serious than she had ever been with him.

"You know why I'm here."

"I believe I can guess." Heimdall replied deeply.

"Will you do it?" She asked, her voice only just wavering. "Will you send me to Earth? Odin said I could leave any time I wanted."

"Yet you have not told him you wish to leave," Heimdall called her out.

Lena smirked. "That was never part of the deal." When Heimdall said nothing, her smile faltered. "Heimdall… Thor is my brother. And while he acted like a complete and total idiot and I don't think he should be king, he is _still_ my brother. I have lost too much family in my short lifetime and I refuse to lose him too. No matter what Odin says," she told him confidently.

Heimdall smiled, one side of his mouth turning upwards. "You are certainly a warrior, my Princess." Lena's expression didn't change and he sighed. "Very well then."

With that he turned on his heel and strode inside the Bifrost, leaving Lena staring after him wide-eyed. "That actually worked?" She whispered to herself in surprise.

"The Bifrost will deposit you near your brother, but the exact location cannot be determined." Heimdall said as Lena hurried in after him. He placed his sword into the machine and it whirred to life. Lena took a deep breath and positioned herself in front of the spire, her mind flashing back to the day before. "Are you sure you are ready for this?" Heimdall asked gravely.

Lena nodded, looking back over her shoulder at the gatekeeper with a wry smile. "You can take the girl out of Midgard, but you can't take the Midgard out of the girl," she smirked before turning back around. "I'm ready."

"Good luck. I will be watching." Heimdall said, shoving the sword in the rest of the way. And with that, Lena was pulled into the light of the bridge, her body sailing through space. She was much more prepared this time, and she kept her eyes forward and her body tight. Within seconds she saw Earth racing up to meet her and by the time she had blinked she was landing in a crouch, going down on one knee to absorb the shock.

The ground was dusty, and Lena coughed rather ungracefully as it invaded her lungs. She blinked sand away from her eyes, rubbing her face as the dust settled around her. She had to squint from the harsh sunlight, her hand hovering over Gríðarvölr.

"Where the hell am I?" She murmured to herself, her eyes drifting up to the blue sky that she hadn't seen in months. She smiled. She was back on Earth.

"New Mexico," a male voice spoke suddenly.

Lena spun around on her knees, jumping to her feet and pulling her staff out to its full length in one fluid motion.

Standing in front of her was a man clad in black pants, black boots, and a black fitted shirt. He had short blonde messy hair, and his eyes were green and quite mesmerizing – actually his entire face was really nice.

But Lena didn't have time to focus on how attractive he was because of all things, he had a bow and arrow pointed right at her face.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**A/N: YAY FOR CLINT AND LENA IN THIS CHAPTER MAKE SURE TO REVIEWWWWW **

Lena didn't want to laugh, she really didn't. But when she considered the fact that had she just fought off hundreds of frost giants from another realm, watched her crown prince brother get banished by her father – the _King_ of yet _another_ Realm, and just landed in _New_ _Mexico_ of all places after riding a bridge made of light, she couldn't really help it. She laughed.

It started off as a giggle, a chuckle even. But when she looked up at the eyes of the archer in front of her, his bow pulled taut and aimed right at her head with an incredibly unamused expression, she simply lost it. She doubled over laughing, one hand clutching her stomach and the other still clutching her staff. This lasted for about a full minute before the archer finally spoke up.

"Something funny?" He asked in a serious voice, though Lena could detect some amusement.

"It's just…" she gasped out, still laughing, "New Mexico. New Mexico!" She fell apart all over again. The man was quiet, his face stony as she finally looked back up at him, standing to her full height and grinning at him. "I'm sorry," she said.

The man let out one chuckle, the corner of his mouth quirking up. "Not many people apologize for laughing. Of course, not many people laugh about being teleported into the middle of New Mexico."

Lena grinned, not bothering to correct him about his use of the word, 'teleporting.'

"Oh no, I wasn't apologizing for laughing. I was apologizing for this."

Lena fell into a crouch so fast the man was genuinely caught off guard – a rarity for him. She spun on her heel and knocked the man's feet out from underneath him, sending him to the ground. His bow clattered to the dirt as he reached out and grabbed Lena's ankle, yanking her down as well. Lena shrieked as she fell backwards, the man spinning and reaching for his bow. Lena thrust out Gríðarvölr and hit him in the back, making him grunt in pain as he fell on top of his bow. Lena was already up and standing over him with her staff in her hand as he rolled over on his back to look up at her.

Though it was terrible form on his part, all the master archer could think about in that moment was how gorgeous the girl was. Her blonde hair was covered in dust, her green shirt was wrinkled and dirty, and she looked super pissed. Yet she was stunning as she towered over him, half of her face hidden in shadow, her head blocking the sun behind her.

"You done yet?" She asked without a hint of the laughter she had been consumed by barely a minute before.

The man grinned. "Nope."

Lena's cockiness kept her from noticing that he had pulled out a tiny syringe shaped like a dart out of his pocket. She had just opened her mouth for another retort when he flung it at her neck.

"Ow!" Lena cried out as it pierced her skin, her hand coming up to yank the needle out. She tried to look and see what it was, but everything was blurry. She looked back down at the man, his attractive features all meshing together. "Ah, shit," she cursed just before darkness over took.

**xXxXx**

Lena woke up slowly, squinting her eyes as she opened them to a harsh light. Her head was lying on a table and she lifted it slowly, groaning. Metal clanged with the movement and she blinked in confusion as she realized she was handcuffed to a table and sitting in a horribly uncomfortable chair. She took a deep breath and finally opened her eyes all the way.

Sitting across from Lena was a man in a crisp suit and tie, a creepy smile on his face though it did seem somewhat genuine. Behind him was the man she had fought earlier leaned up against the wall, his arms crossed. _Nice_ _biceps_, Lena thought to herself.

"Where am I?" Lena asked in a hoarse voice.

"Puente Antigua." The man sitting across from her answered kindly. Lena raised an eyebrow. "New Mexico."

"Careful Coulson, don't get her started on a laughing fit." The man against the wall smirked.

Lena rolled her eyes. "Oh shutup," she snapped at him, making his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Before she could ask anything else her face paled in realization that Gríðarvölr wasn't with her. She looked all around the tiny room in a panic. "Where's my staff?" She asked incredulously. "What the _hell_ did you do with my staff?"

"It's safe," the man – Coulson – replied calmly. "And so are you. We just need you to answer a few questions."

"Yeah well I don't have any time to answer your questions. I've got places to be, people to see," she said with a sarcastic smile.

"You're not going anywhere," the archer said dryly.

"I'm sorry, who are you people?"

"I'm Agent Phil Coulson, and this is Agent Clint Barton," the one across from her replied. "We work with an organization called SHIELD."

"Well that's fine and dandy for you two, but what does it have to do with me?"

"Other than the fact that you attacked a SHIELD agent?" Agent Barton spat, catching her eye.

"Oh please," Lena rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair as far as the handcuffs would let her. "You had an arrow pointed at my face, what did you expect?"

"Barton," Coulson said before Clint could speak, Lena's eyes bright with challenge. Barton took a deep breath before biting his tongue. Coulson turned back to Lena with his eerie smile. He pulled a folder out from the inside of his jacket and slid it across the table to her. Lena glanced at him warily before opening the file with the slack provided by the handcuffs. She bit her lip when she realized it was a file on _her_.

"Magdalena Freya Sullivan.," Coulson said. "Born June 12th, 1989. Raised in Cody, Wyoming by your uncle, who was shot and killed on your 18th birthday." Lena flinched. "Went off the grid for 2 years living in Clearwater, Florida until you started fighting at Jem's Gym – clever name by the way – where you quickly made a name for yourself. Then on your 22nd birthday you simply… vanished." He waved his hands for dramatic effect and Lena had to fight not to roll her eyes again. "Then you somehow appear in a burst of light in Puente Antigua, New Mexico right outside of a SHIELD facility that is investigating similar appearances."

"Similar appearances?" Lena sat up quickly, making both men raise their eyebrows at her. "What similar appearances? What are you investigating?"

"That's confidential information," Barton said dryly.

"Do you have him?" Lena asked, completely ignoring him.

"Have who?" Coulson asked. Lena opened her mouth to continue, but froze. He looked genuinely confused – and highly interested – in what she was asking. If Thor were already here, he wouldn't have reacted that way.

"I… nobody." Lena stammered, and she could feel Barton's gaze narrow on her. "Um, what is it that you're investigating?" She asked in a much calmer voice.

Coulson obviously knew she was lying, but he chose not to pursue it. "An unidentifiable object hit the ground in the middle of this compound two nights ago," he stated bluntly. "It's been emitting low charges of radiation and SHIELD was called in to investigate it."

"Mjolnir," Lena whispered.

"I'm sorry?"

"Nothing, nothing." She shook her head. She stared at the table before her, her mind racing. If Mjolnir was here and Thor wasn't, then where the hell was her brother?

"Miss Sullivan," Coulson spoke. Lena snapped her head back up to him with wide eyes. "Where have you been for the past three months?"

Lena's mouth parted and a choking sound escaped her, but no words. The two men stared at her expectantly. "I uh… I've been… travelling."

"Travelling?" Barton asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Lena nodded furiously. "Backpacking actually. Or hitchhiking, if you will." She pursed her lips together. "It's been a really enlightening experience, you guys should try it sometime."

"I think I'll pass." Coulson smiled. "So if you've been… backpacking for the past three months, then how exactly did you crash land in the middle of the New Mexico desert? Can you tell us what that was all about?"

_Shit_, Lena thought to herself. She always was a crappy liar, and it was kind of impossible to lie herself out of this situation. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, her eyes flitting between the two men. After a few seconds she put on her brightest smile.

"Gentlemen," she said in her most flattering voice, "I can assure you that whatever you're thinking about me is most likely very wrong."

"What, that you're a terrorist with unparalleled technology at your disposal?" Barton snapped.

Lena's face paled. "T-Terrorist?" She stuttered incredulously. "I'm not a terrorist!"

"Where'd you learn to fight like that then?" He retorted. "And that staff of yours? That weapon is unparalleled, our scans show there isn't anything like it."

Lena's face hardened. "You've been running _scans_ on my staff?"

"Who do you work for?" Barton approached the table, laying his hands flat against it and leaning his face in close to Lena's.

"I don't work for anyone," she spat.

"Quit lying."

"I'm not lying, and I would suggest that you not take an attitude with me." She cocked her head to the side.

Clint couldn't help but admire her boldness. When he was this close to her he noticed that her eyes were bright blue, with flecks of green in them. Her skin was unsettlingly clear, save for the streaks of dirt. He took note that her eyebrows drew together when she was angry.

"So you mean to tell me that–"

Clint was cut off as an alarm started to wail. He jerked himself back up to a standing position, only realizing then how close his face had been to hers. Coulson pulled out a walkie talkie.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"_Sir, there's been a perimeter breach. A tall, white male seems to be heading straight for the 084."_

"084?" Lena asked. "Is that the hammer?" Both men turned to look at her and she realized her mistake.

"How did you know that?" Clint asked slowly.

"_Sir_," the voice came back over the walkie talkie in a slightly panicked tone, _"The intruder seems to be on a war path, he's taking our guys out left and right._"

"Oh no," Lena whispered. She looked back up at the two agents with a serious expression. "You have to let me out of here. That's my brother out there, I can stop him if you just let me."

"You think we're letting you go anywhere?" Clint asked incredulously as he grabbed a black jacket off the back of a chair and shrugged it on.

"Please!" She shouted. "I know you have no reason to trust me, but I'm begging you." She looked back to Coulson, who was considering her thoughtfully. "My brother is a good man, but he's in distress. Let me out of here so that I can stop him before he hurts anyone and later regrets it."

Coulson was silent, his beady eyes staring her down. Barton looked on silently.

"Barton cut her loose," he finally said as he turned on his heel and opened the door.

"What?" Barton asked incredulously.

"Do it," Coulson repeated, gesturing to someone outside of the room. Clint sighed in irritation but walked over and took off Lena's handcuffs anyways. She jumped up the second she was free. "Here," Coulson tossed her staff over to her. "You do anything out of line, we'll put you down. You're going to stop your brother, then we're going to have more questions for…"

Coulson trailed off as Gríðarvölr lit up in her hand, the engravings coming to life once the staff was in the hands of its rightful owner. Lena closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, feeling rejuvenated almost immediately.

"Well," Coulson murmured, "You don't see that every day."

Lena's eyes snapped open and Clint was shocked at how fierce she looked. This girl was a warrior, he could tell.

"Which way?"

Just then, a loud crack of thunder made the room shake and Lena looked up. Clint took note that the noise didn't seem too surprise her whatsoever. There was a crashing sound a ways away, painful grunts following.

"You know what, I think I can figure it out," Lena muttered, pushing past Coulson and out of the room. She vaguely heard Coulson telling Barton he needed to get up high. But she couldn't focus on the archer at that moment, she had to find Thor.

Lena walked in a frighteningly intimidating fashion, Gríðarvölr at her side lit up with power, her jaw clenched tight, her clothes and skin still streaked with brown dirt. SHIELD agents were rushing past her and giving her odd looks, but she paid them no mind. While battling on Jotunheim, Lena hadn't had nearly as much confidence as she had been feigning. But here, on Earth after being a Midgardian warrior princess for three months, she felt rather invincible.

Upon hearing more sounds of a struggle up ahead, Lena picked up the pace as she rushed through the compound tunnels lined with plastic covering on the sides. She came to a halt when she rounded a corner and came up on two agents lying in a heap on the ground.

"Dammit, Thor," she muttered, crouching down next to them. They were both still breathing, just unconscious. She grabbed a walkie talkie from one of the agents' belts and hooked it onto her own before continuing down the tunnel. She could hear Thor up ahead now and she broke out into a run.

"_Barton, talk to me_," she heard Coulson's voice over the walkie.

"_Do you want me to slow him down, sir_?" Barton replied. "_Or are you sending in more guys for him to beat up?"_

Lena rolled her eyes and held the walkie up to her own mouth. "If you even think about shooting my brother I will personally beat the crap out of you."

Up in his stand above the compound with his bow tracking the intruder's movements, Clint grinned when he heard the mysterious girl's voice over his earpiece. She was feisty as hell.

Lena followed the trail of injuries around yet another corner and down a set of metal stairs, clearing the thing in one jump, landing in a crouch with Gríðarvölr absorbing some of the shock for her. She took off into a faster run down a longer tunnel before skidding around a final corner. The tunnel she was in now had an opening at the end, and she figured that's where Mjolnir was. She ran even harder out of the tunnel and into the rain, her body coming to a halt at a metal railing.

Lena froze in shock when she looked down, rain pouring down and soaking her head to toe. There was Mjolnir, stuck in the muddy ground like Excalibur. But where was Thor?

"_You better call it Coulson_," she heard Barton's voice yet again, "'_Cause_ _I'm starting to root for this guy._"

Before Lena could ask where he was, she saw Thor rip open a side of the plastic sheeting surrounding Mjolnir. Lena gasped and stepped back out of his line of sight – why, she didn't know. Thor looked haggard, covered in mud, a manic grin on his face as he stepped up to Mjolnir.

"_Last chance, sir_," Barton said, and Lena scrambled to hold the walkie up to her mouth.

"No, don't!" She hissed. "Just wait."

"_Hold_, _Barton_," Coulson agreed. "_I wanna see this._"

Thor circled Mjolnir, coming to a stop with his back to Lena where she crouched on the landing above him. She didn't have to see his face to know that he was smiling. Lena blinked away the raindrops resting in her eyelashes as he reached out and grabbed Mjolnir's handle, thunder booming overhead…

But nothing happened.

Thor's entire body went rigid, and Lena's mouth parted in shock. He couldn't lift it. He couldn't lift Mjolnir. She stood back up to her full height, her heart breaking for her brother as he tried and tried again, but to no avail. Finally he let go, taking a step back and lifting his head to the pouring sky. Lena didn't know what to expect, but it certainly wasn't the utter pain and anguish-filled cry that Thor gave – directed at their father, she knew.

He fell to his knees then, seeming exhausted and spent.

"_Alright show's over_," Coulson said, "_Ground units, move in_."

Lena snapped back to attention, her body going stiff. "No!" She shouted as she saw agents start to come down the tunnels all around them. Without a moment of hesitation she grabbed the railing in front of her and launched herself over it, her boots sinking in the muddy ground. "Thor!" She shouted, dropping her staff and falling to her knees in front of her brother, grabbing his face in her hands and forcing him to look up at her. His normally bright eyes looked dead. "Thor it's me, it's Lena. Everything's alright, you're going to be fine."

"Lena…?" He asked slowly, his taut features drawn together in confusion. "What are you…?"

Suddenly though there were agents behind Thor and herself, handcuffing the both of them. "No, stop!" Lena cried out, willing herself not to fight back for Thor's sake. "Please, if you just let me explain–"

"Take her to the tech room and put him in interrogation," Lena heard Coulson say. She looked up to see him standing on a landing watching the entire scene. He made eye contact with her, his expression unreadable as the two siblings were led away from one another, Lena crying out to Thor that everything would be okay and her brother not responding with a word.

**xXxXx**

About ten minutes later, Lena was sitting in yet another awfully uncomfortable chair, but fortunately she wasn't handcuffed this time. Though her staff had been confiscated much to her chagrin. Her hair was drying in frizzy waves, but her clothes were still dripping onto the metal floor beneath her. Her head was in her hands and all she could think about was the pain that her brother must be in.

"Sullivan," Barton's voice suddenly spoke, inclining her to lift her head up. He had changed into dry clothes, but his blonde hair was even messier than before. If Lena hadn't been so miserable she might've thought he looked adorable. In a scary secret agent kind of way. "Here," he muttered, tossing her a bundle of clothes. She caught it with one hand, looking up at him blandly. "I figured you might want to change. That room's empty," he gestured with his head to a door behind him. Lena didn't react for a few seconds, but she eventually stood up and walked past him into the room.

Once she was changed into black pants, a black long sleeve shirt, and dry socks courtesy of SHIELD, Lena pulled her boots and empty weapons belt back on and walked back out into the tech room. The other agent that had been guarding her had disappeared, and now it was just Barton casually sitting on top of a desk and observing her carefully. She shut the door behind her and leaned back against it, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Where's my brother?" She asked in a dangerous tone.

The corners of Clint's mouth turned up as he took in her appearance. "Are the clothes alright? I had to guess on your size."

"I'm not a big fan of black," she said with an attitude. "I much prefer silver or gray. Now _where_ is my brother?"

Clint sighed, realizing that she was all business at the moment. "Coulson is asking him some questions," he replied, trying to gauge her reaction.

"If anyone so much as harms a single hair on his head–"

"Oh you mean like how he injured thirteen agents?" Clint interrupted, noticing that she seemed to genuinely feel guilty about that. He sighed. "Don't worry. That's not our style," he added.

Lena didn't say anything for a second, running her tongue over her dry lips. She didn't notice Barton watching the action. "Are they okay?"

"Who?"

"The agents that my brother took out. Are they alright? Was anyone seriously hurt?"

Clint cocked his head to the side. "No," he said mildly, "They're fine. A few concussions and cracked ribs, but nothing serious."

"Good, good," Lena murmured, rubbing her hands over her face. She looked exhausted.

"So," Clint started to say, hopping off the desk and crossing his arms as he stared the girl down, "Magdalena, why don't you tell me how–"

"It's Lena," Lena snapped, cutting him off with a deadly expression that made his green eyes widen. "My name is Lena."

Clint didn't respond for a moment, but then he smiled. Lena's heart leapt in her chest because the little prick _smiled_. And if that wasn't bad enough, he had a great smile. It lit up his whole face – which she had already established was very nice to look at – with his eyes brightening and his body relaxing. His smile made _her_ wanna smile, and that kind of thing just did not happen to her.

"Alright then," he said with that stupidly attractive grin, "Lena."

Oh and of _course_ it got even worse. He said her name in such a beautiful way, the stupid two-syllable nickname sounding better coming from his gorgeous mouth than she had ever heard it in her entire life.

"Who are you?" He asked, either not realizing just how much he was affecting her or choosing not to acknowledge it. She figured the latter.

Lena took a deep breath, looking away from his mesmerizing eyes. "You know who I am. I assume you read that file, and it had pretty much everything about me in there."

"No it didn't," he shook his head. "No 22 year old without any formal training can fight the way that you fought me. And certainly not one that's been _backpacking_ for the past 3 months," he looked at her incredulously, raising an eyebrow. Lena just shrugged.

"What can I say? I'm an oddity."

_A hot oddity,_ Clint thought to himself.

"And Hammertime in there, he's your brother?" Clint continued, "Your file didn't say anything about a brother."

"We're half-siblings," Lena explained, glad that she didn't have to lie for once, "I found my father recently, and it turns out I have two brothers. He's the older one."

Clint nodded. He could tell that she wasn't lying this time, and he had to admit that she and the intruder did have some similar features.

"So Coulson said you work for an organization called SHIELD?" Lena asked, propping one foot up against the wall behind her as she pulled the topic of conversation away from her. "What does that mean?"

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division," Clint said in a dry voice. "It's kind of a mouthful."

"I'll say," Lena muttered. "What do you guys do?"

Clint smirked, his hand rubbing his chin as Lena's eyes flitted to his mouth for a brief second. "We deal with the things people don't like to hear about."

"Like radiated hammers that no one can pick up falling from the sky?" Lena retorted, her eyebrow raised challengingly.

"People falling from the sky too." Lena's smirk fell from her face at that. "Oh yeah. I saw everything when you showed up in the middle of the desert. You were about a quarter mile away from where you're standing right now. I was running the perimeter while the brains set all of this up, and lo and behold, a big tunnel of light fell from the sky and you came down with it." He took a step closer to Lena, all traces of humor gone from his face. "You haven't been backpacking the past few months, and you aren't just some fighter that was trained by an old man for a couple years. Who are you, really?"

Lena gulped as she pressed her back up against the door as far as she could, Barton standing directly in front of her, his steely eyes staring deep into her own. Her heart was beating frantically, partly because of his proximity, but mostly because she had absolutely no idea how to respond to his questions.

"I–"

"Agent Barton," a new voice interrupted suddenly, Clint whirling his head around to see a bald head poking in the room. He exhaled in annoyance, irritated that Lena had distracted him so much he hadn't even heard the door open.

"What, Sitwell?"

"Coulson wants her," Sitwell nodded at Lena.

Lena sighed, her eyes fluttering shut. Coulson was with Thor, which meant she could finally see her brother.

Lena cleared her throat. "Agent Barton," he whipped his head back around to her, "If you'd be so kind."

Clint looked confused for a second as he looked down at Lena – she was a good five or six inches shorter than him. Then he realized how close they still were and blinked rapidly, stepping back awkwardly. "Right, yeah."

Lena let out a breath when he moved away, finally feeling like she could breathe again. What was _wrong_ with her? Odin had warned that Asgardians felt things more strongly than Midgardians, but this was just downright ridiculous. She had just met this man and he already had a weird effect on her that she knew went beyond sexual attraction – though that was definitely there too.

Holding her head high, Lena walked past Barton without another glance at him and followed Sitwell out of the room. She could feel his piercing green eyes watching her, and her cheeks flushed.

"When do I get my staff back?" Lena asked as she and Agent Sitwell walked along a corridor, a few other agents giving her curious looks as they walked past them.

Sitwell looked over his shoulder at her in mild irritation. "Whenever Agent Coulson says so," he shrugged. Lena didn't say anything else to that, figuring that complying would probably be best for everyone at this juncture. Suddenly Sitwell's phone rang and he held up a hand for her to stop as he answered it. "This is Sitwell," he answered. "What? … No, absolutely not … I'll be there in two minutes." With that, he hung up and turned to Lena with a sigh.

Sitwell looked around and called a random agent over to them. "Take her to Coulson, he's in interrogation. Keep an eye on her at all times, do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir." The agent nodded. Sitwell gave Lena one last glance before heading back in the direction they had just came from. "Come with me, ma'am," the agent said. Lena sighed as she followed him. As soon as they rounded a corner though, the agent just… disappeared.

"What the hell?" Lena said, spinning around in a circle but finding the corridor completely deserted. "What just–"

"Sister."

Lena jumped and turned around with wide eyes at Loki's voice. She gasped when she saw him standing there, clad in Midgardian clothes no less.

"Loki," she whispered in shock. Her brother's face was stony and tight, no emotion there whatsoever. "What are you doing here?"

"The better question, Lena, is what are _you_ doing here?" He asked, his eyes seeming so incredibly full of concern it actually shocked her.

"I… I came for Thor," she said, "Is that not obvious? I figured Heimdall would have told Odin. I was allowed to come and go as I please, and I thought that–"

"Heimdall did tell Father," Loki interrupted bluntly. "But then he..."

"He what?"

Loki looked up at her with sad eyes. "Father is dead."

A bolt of pure shock hit Lena so hard she actually had to take a step back, her eyes wider than ever before. "What?" She asked incredulously. "No. No, that's impossible, I don't believe you."

"He is. After Thor's banishment, and then with you choosing to leave without a word, he fell into the Odinsleep and… it was simply too much for him to bear."

"No," Lena cried out softly, her breaths coming out in short gasps. "No, no, no. I can't have… I've lost everyone, he can't be…" Tears were falling freely from her eyes now, but Loki made no move to comfort her. He was just a projection anyhow, that must be why. Suddenly though Lena froze, the tears stopping as she looked up at her brother. "Oh no. Thor. He doesn't know, how do I–"

"Thor knows," Loki cut her off. "I just told him."

"If Odin is… dead," Lena croaked out, "Then Frigga will have overturned Thor's banishment, right? Right?" She repeated herself when Loki didn't reply.

"Mother has not taken over the throne," Loki said monotonously, "I have."

Lena's entire body tensed up. Loki in charge? Loki on the _throne_? No, that wasn't good at all.

"Well then," she gulped, wiping away her tears and taking a deep breath, "In that case, you've overturned the banishment then haven't you? I mean, he's our brother."

Something flashed across Loki's sharp features then, but it happened so quickly Lena couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. "I cannot," he said sadly. "It simply wouldn't be right for me to undo Father's dying wish."

"Dying wish?" Lena echoed incredulously. "You've got to be kidding!"

"I am most certainly not _kidding_," Loki spat indignantly.

"Well I…" Lena floundered for what to say. "Look, I'll just come back to Asgard, we'll talk with Frigga about this and–"

"Back to Asgard?" Loki echoed. "You're not coming back to Asgard."

Lena paled. "What?"

"Odin said that you were allowed to return to Midgard anytime you wished… he said nothing about returning."

Lena's mouth parted in shock and a painful gasp escaped her. "No, no," she shook her head furiously, "I'm Asgardian, you can't… you can't keep me from my home!"

"_This_ is your home," Loki hissed cruelly. "Midgard." He spat the word as if it tasted bad in his mouth. "And now you and Thor will remain here. I am sorry, Lena, truly. But this is simply the way things must be."

"Loki please, I'm begging you to–"

But Loki never heard what Lena had to say, because he chose that moment to vanish.

Lena let out a painful gasp when he was gone, covering her mouth with her hand. Odin was dead, she nor Thor could ever return to Asgard, she was stuck in secret government facility, and she had nothing to her name.

No, that wasn't true. She had Thor. She still had her brother, and they would figure it out together.

"Hey!" Lena's head whipped around as Agent Sitwell came storming up to her. "What are you doing? Where's your guard?"

Lena inhaled shakily and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, he just told me to wait here and then took off."

"Oh for Pete's sake," Sitwell muttered, gesturing for her to follow him. She did, taking deep, slow breaths to calm herself down. The only way she was going to get herself and Thor out of this place was if she played her cards right.

Sitwell led Lena to the outside of the interrogation room, a one-way mirror the only thing separating her from her brother. She looked around and saw one other agent in the room along with Agent Coulson who smiled that strangely reassuring smile at her.

"Gentlemen, would you leave us, please?" Coulson asked Sitwell and the other agent.

As soon as the two agents were gone, Lena rushed over to the glass and looked at Thor. He was sitting in a chair staring at the wall in front of him with a painfully sad expression. "He won't tell us anything," Coulson said as he stepped up beside her. "Not a word."

Lena chuckled sadly. "That's my brother for you. The only time he ever shuts up is when someone wants him to talk." She turned her head to look at Coulson. "Can I see him? Please?"

Coulson sighed. "Do you realize that I broke pretty much every rule by letting Barton uncuff you earlier? And then I gave you a weapon. It was pretty stupid."

"Then why did you do it?"

"I had a gut feeling about you," he answered honestly. "I knew you weren't going to hurt anyone if you could help it, and I was right. But your brother," he looked through the glass, "He did hurt people. Several agents – good agents."

"He's in pain," Lena argued. "He's hurting right now, and I know that doesn't excuse his actions, but maybe it can give you a sense of understanding." She paused, looking up at Coulson pleadingly. "Just let me talk to him."

Coulson sighed yet again, and Lena had the oddest inclination that she was going to make him sigh several times in the future. "Fine. You only have a few minutes though."

"Thank you," Lena said breathlessly, rushing past Coulson and through the door that led into the interrogation room. As soon as she was out of sight, Barton came into the room and Coulson looked over at him.

"You letting her talk to him?" Barton asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked through the glass to see Lena burst into the interrogation room and rush over to her brother, engulfing him in a hug.

Coulson nodded. "I just have a feeling about this one, Clint. There's something about her that I can't quite put my finger on. I think SHIELD could use her though."

Barton nodded, his eyes watching Lena's every movement as she knelt beside her brother, taking his hand in her own. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but she was obviously comforting him.

"Yeah," Clint murmured, "I've got a strange feeling about her, too."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**A/N: Enjoy and review! **

As soon as Lena burst into the interrogation room, Thor lifted his head up to look at her.

"Thor," she said in relief, running over and hugging the daylights out of him.

"Lena," Thor said softly, hugging her back in surprise. He pushed her back by the shoulders and looked at her face. "Are you alright?"

"Am I alright? Yes Thor, I'm fine." She chuckled, crouching down beside him in the chair and placing her hand over his. "Thor… I saw Loki."

Thor's face immediately fell, his gaze drifting to the floor. "I did this," he murmured. "I am the reason our father is dead."

"No you aren't," Lena said firmly, squeezing his hand to bring his attention back to her. "No one is to blame for Odin's death. Death is… a part of life. A terrible, terrible part of life, but one we have to deal with all the same. Not to mention that you and I _both_ left Asgard, so if you're blaming yourself you're also blaming me."

"Why did you leave, sister? Why did you come to Midgard?" Thor asked, his brow furrowing.

"I came for you, you idiot. I couldn't stay in Asgard one more second knowing that you were banished – it just wasn't right."

"You must go back," Thor said firmly, his jaw clenched. "You must go back and take care of our mother, she must be devastated. And you have to tell Sif and the Warriors Three how terribly sorry I am, especially Fandral. And you must–"

"Thor," Lena cut him off softly, a wistful smile on her face. "I can't go back to Asgard."

"What? Why not?"

"Loki said…" She paused to clear her throat, "Loki said that he doesn't believe Odin would allow me back if he were alive, that the deal was that I could come to Midgard whenever I wished, but… I could never return to Asgard again if I made that choice."

"That's madness!" Thor stood up suddenly, Lena following suit. "You are an Asgardian–"

"I'm also," Lena interrupted firmly, "A Midgardian. Earth is my home too, Thor. I lived here for 22 years. I lived on Asgard for 3 months." She smiled sadly at her brother, who seemed so lost. "And besides, Asgard was too good to be true for someone like me. You and I will just have to… make the best out of this situation. We'll figure something out. Together."

Over the next few minutes, Thor and Lena caught each other up on the whirlwind that was the past two days. Lena sat crisscross on the floor in front of Thor's chair, assuring him that Fandral was recovering just fine, and was probably up and annoying their other three friends at that very moment. He told her of the friends that he had made – two women named Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis, and a man named Erik Selvig. They were scientists, and they had found him when the Bifrost had dumped him in the middle of the desert much like it had left her.

Lena found herself worrying more and more for Thor's state of mind, noticing the bags under his eyes and the cut on his temple. He was mortal now, his Asgardian strength depleted. Without that physical strength and without Mjolnir, she had no idea how he was truly holding up.

Suddenly the door opened and a man that Lena had never seen before stepped inside.

"Oh, Donny, Donny, Donny!" The man greeted dramatically, stepping over to Thor. Lena scrambled to her feet, confusion etched on her delicate yet fierce features. "There you are! It's gonna be all right, I'm taking you home, now."

"You're not taking him anywhere," Lena snapped, grabbing the man's wrist and twisting it away from Thor's shoulder, making him cry out in pain.

"Lena, no!" Thor said, pulling her away. "This is Erik Selvig, the man I was telling you about."

"Well why is he here?" Lena asked tersely, her eyes narrowing at Selvig as he rubbed his now sore wrist.

"I'm here to take _Donald_ home." Selvig replied, widening his eyes at Thor and Lena as if to say, _play along_.

Suddenly Barton stepped up behind Selvig, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe, a bored expression on his chiseled face. Lena's mouth went dry and she mentally cursed herself for reacting like a hormonal teenager.

"If you'd told us your brother was a big to-do physicist, we might've let him go sooner," Barton said dryly.

"Physicist," Lena echoed, "Right, of course. I just… didn't see how that was relevant."

Clint smirked. "Neither did we." He turned his attention back to Thor. "You can go, but she's staying here."

"My sister goes with me," Thor said immediately, taking a threatening step towards Barton.

"Woah, woah hold up." Lena jumped in front of Thor and put a hand on his chest, craning her neck up to look at his face. "Chill Th – Donald. Just relax. Agents Barton and Coulson just want to ask me a few questions and then I'll be out of here. Isn't that right Agent Barton?" She turned back to Clint.

"Sure," he smirked, his eyes piercing into Lena's.

Lena cleared her throat, shaking her head as she looked back up at her brother with a smile. "See? I'll be fine as long as I cooperate." She gave Thor a look that said, _trust me, I know what I'm doing_. He seemed to understand as he relaxed and nodded.

"As soon as you are able, you must find me and my new companions," Thor said firmly, taking on the typical big brother tone that made Lena roll her eyes.

"Yes, of course I will," she muttered. "Everything will be fine. Just go with Mr. Selvig."

"Dr. Selvig, actually," he corrected her, but then quickly looked away when she glared.

Thor hugged Lena tightly before leaving the room, Dr. Selvig nervously leading the way out. Her brother gave her one last concerned look before he disappeared around the corner. As soon as he was gone, Lena let out a deep breath and ran her hands through her hair like she always did when she was stressed, turning on her heel and pacing the length of the room. She trailed her hands over her face tiredly before turning back to face Barton, who was watching her with that stupid smirk on his face.

"You know he's not a physicist," she stated bluntly, not even bothering to pose it as a question because she knew the answer.

"Of course he's not," Barton snorted. "We're not stupid. But it bodes well for us to pretend we think he is who his friend says he is."

"If you hurt him–"

"Like I said before," he cut her off in a calm voice, "That's not how SHIELD does things. We're not going to hurt your brother if we don't have to."

Lena relaxed, crossing her arms and looking down at the ground. "Thank you."

Clint didn't say 'you're welcome,' but he did smile.

"Are you hungry?" He asked suddenly, "Because I'm starving." Lena raised her eyebrows at him in question, but her stomach chose the perfect time to growl since he had made her think about food. She hadn't eaten in over 24 hours. "I'll take that as a yes," Clint chuckled. "Come on, let's go get some grub."

Lena hesitated, but eventually complied, allowing Barton to lead her out of the interrogation room. He chattered away about how SHIELD had flown in about a hundred or so agents the day prior, but he felt like there were more brains than muscle, and he wasn't even supposed to be there, but a mission got cancelled at the last minute, and so on and so forth. His rambling didn't really bother Lena so much because she could obviously tell that he was doing it to try and make her more comfortable as they made their way through the compound with agents staring at Lena, knowing who she was and wondering why she wasn't in handcuffs.

"When do I get my weapons back?" Lena suddenly asked just as they rounded a corner leading to a mess hall area. Clint stopped and turned to face her. "My staff and my knives. I'd like them back."

He seemed to consider it for a moment. "I'll talk to Coulson. It's not really up to me, but I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you."

Clint smiled at that for a brief second before turning on his heel and leading her into the mess hall. He gestured at a table for her to sit at and told her he would grab them some food. She did so hesitantly, feeling people's eyes on her. In Asgard, she had gotten used to people staring – she was the princess from Midgard after all, it kind of came with the territory. But here, she wasn't a princess. She was just an outsider that nobody trusted.

"Here you go," Clint said as he sat down, pushing a plate with a sandwich on it across the table to her. Lena looked down at it and couldn't help but chuckle. "What? That delicacy doesn't look appetizing after all of the fast food you must've eaten while… hitchhiking the past few months?" He asked sarcastically, that seemingly ever present smirk on his face.

"No, it's just…" Lena didn't know what to say. It was just strange to even consider eating a plain ham and cheese sandwich when every meal she had eaten for the past 3 months had literally been fit for a king. "This is fine. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Clint said through a mouthful of his own sandwich, obviously not one for tact. Lena couldn't help but laugh at him, earning one of his prize winning smiles in kind.

"You're being way too nice to me," Lena said as she picked up the sandwich, "Isn't this breaking the rules? Eating with the so-called terrorist that kicked your ass?"

"First of all," Clint dropped his sandwich, suddenly looking serious. "You did _not_ kick my ass. I was holding back because I knew you might have information on what the hell is going on around here – and I was right," he said matter-of-factly, and Lena chuckled. "Secondly, I don't really think you're a terrorist."

"Well that's good to know," Lena mumbled dejectedly. The two were silent for a moment, the food suddenly unappetizing to Lena despite how hungry she was. "So tell me," she finally looked up, "Do you take all the girls you interrogate on dates to the mess hall?"

Clint barked out a laugh, catching the eyes of several other agents as he chuckled. "That was a good one," he pointed an index finger at Lena. "I especially liked the part where you avoid your emotions by telling jokes at the expense of yourself."

The grin dropped off of Lena's face slowly, Clint's mordant smirk cutting her to the very core. He was right of course, but it terrified Lena how it seemed as though he could see _right through her_.

"You know I get the feeling that you're a real ass," she said bluntly.

"And I get the feeling that you have a lot of information you probably shouldn't be withholding from SHIELD." His expression immediately turned to business, and Lena wasn't too prideful to admit that it was quite intimidating.

"What do you want to know?" She finally spat, pushing her food away from her and folding her arms over the table. "I'll tell you all about myself. Lena Sullivan. Straight A student in high school, homecoming queen, valedictorian, captain of the dance team, first chair flute. My uncle got murdered, I spiraled out of control. Got back on track a couple of years later, learned how to defend myself. A friend died in my arms, I spiraled again. Decided to go off the grid." She stopped there, eyebrows raised at Clint like a challenge. "That's all."

"It's a nice story," Clint said, his eyes wide and mockingly thoughtful. "You see, you're just leaving out a few important details. Like what you've _really_ been up to the past three months. And how about we just skip past the bullshit hitchhiking excuse."

Lena's body tensed, but she forced herself to smile innocently. "Fine. I've been doing some underground fighting."

"Underground fighting?"

"Yeah. Non-regulation fights are a bit frowned upon, you see. But the money is hella good, so what's a girl to do? I decided to stay off the grid to keep any not-so-friendly parties off my scent."

Clint narrowed his eyes at her, and Lena had to fight to keep her features cool and collected. "And your brother?" He asked. "When did you meet him?"

"At a fight, coincidentally enough," Lena lied through her teeth. "In Santa Fe, about two months ago. He recognized me from an old photo album he had seen as a kid. Our father had some pictures of my mother before she died, and I look a lot like her." Lena shrugged casually. "He asked me who I was, I told him, and then he introduced me to my dad. End of story."

"Alright. All of that is fairly believable. But what about that whole suddenly and miraculously appearing in the middle of the desert in a flash of light thing?" He asked matter-of-factly.

Lena gulped, trying and failing to keep her breathing even. Barton was a trained government agent, she knew he was picking up on her every move.

"I wish I could tell you," Lena replied, being truthful. She wished she could explain in detail about Asgard, her parentage, and the Bifrost. But she simply couldn't.

Clint's eyes narrowed. "I believe you," he finally said after a moment, catching Lena off guard. "I mean everything else you said is complete bullshit, but I believe that you _want_ to tell me the truth."

Lena sighed, putting her head in her hands. "Am I really that bad of a liar?"

Clint guffawed. "Oh yeah. Terrible, really. You need to work on that."

"Yeah well what about you?" Lena shifted the focus of the conversation, "I'm sure you can't tell me your whole life story and be completely honest. Everyone has secrets they need to keep."

Clint's expression turned thoughtful. "You're right," he nodded. "But it's my job to make sure that _your_ secrets aren't hurting anyone else."

Lena chewed on her lip for a few seconds, her face clouded with concentration. She didn't realize just how distracting the action was to the man across from her though. "Okay how about this?" She asked suddenly, Clint blinking at her. "You were able to tell when I was lying, right? Well look at me and see if I'm lying." She leaned forward against the table, her blue eyes making direct contact with Clint's green ones. "I am not here to hurt anyone. Neither is my brother." She paused for a moment. "I am not a terrorist, I am not part of some secret bad guy group. I want to _help_ people, not hurt them. You can trust me on that."

Clint kept his eyes firmly trained on Lena. She was telling the truth – that was for certain. Even without the training that he had, anyone would be able to see that she was being honest. She spoke with passion, her voice never wavering.

What seemed like ages of prolonged eye contact passed between them, but neither wanted to look away. The tension was crackling, thick with attraction that neither understood.

"Are you in need of a job?" Clint asked suddenly, making Lena's face scrunch up in adorable confusion.

"What?"

"SHIELD could use someone like you. Your fighting skill, wit, knowledge that you don't want to share with us. You would make a good agent."

Lena started to laugh, shaking her head. She covered her mouth with her hand as her shoulder shook. "Warrior princess one day, secret agent the next," she mumbled under her breath almost inaudibly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing," she said as she looked back up at him with a wry smile, her eyes bright. "It's just… are you even in a position to be offering me a job for a top secret government organization that is currently holding me hostage?"

Clint let out a chuckle at that as well. "Well, not technically. But I seem to be making a habit of doing things I'm not supposed to do when it comes to giving people second chances."

"That's a good quality to have," Lena said honestly. "Very honorable."

"Are you?" He asked. "Honorable, that is."

"Yes. I'd like to think so."

"Is it high up on your list of values?"

"Yes," she said, "I value honor as much as I value my family."

"What about your friends?"

"My friends _are_ my family." Lena replied without a moment's hesitation. Clint could tell yet again that she was telling the truth and he smiled. The two stared into each other's eyes once again – it was becoming a real problem.

"Agent Barton," Coulson's voice interrupted the moment, both of their heads snapping up to look at him. "Miss Sullivan," he nodded at Lena. "I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you to stay overnight."

"Well at least buy me dinner first," she quipped back.

"I got you a sandwich," Clint pointed out.

"Eh, I much prefer sushi if we're being honest."

"I'll keep that in mind," he waggled his eyebrows at her teasingly, but Lena's heart stuttered all the same.

"We have some new techs being flown in tomorrow morning that want to take a look at that staff of yours," Coulson ignored their banter. "And I assume you won't want to leave without it–"

"You would be assuming correctly," Lena snapped harsher than she intended.

"So unless you would like to tell us your whole story, you'll be staying here tonight."

The two men looked at Lena expectantly, and her eyes flitted between them.

"Well then," she finally said, "Where's my room?"

**xXxXx**

The next morning, Lena woke up quite suddenly, sitting up so quickly it made her vision go starry for a few seconds. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up in the small, uncomfortable cot in her mini jail cell courtesy of SHIELD. The room was barely 15 square feet, with only the cot and a small mirror on the black metal wall. Taking a deep breath, Lena got up, popping her aching joints as she walked over to the mirror and sighed.

She looked exhausted, which was expected considering she woke up several times the night before and hardly got any sleep the night before that as well. Her face had always been oddly free of blemishes – courtesy of Asgardian genetics she now knew – but even she wasn't immune to those annoying purple bags under her eyes. Other than that, she looked the same as she usually did.

_I don't look like someone who just lost her father_, she thought to herself. _I don't look like someone who just lost her home. I don't look lost._

But oh was she ever lost.

Forcing herself not to dwell on what she couldn't change and would only make her feel even more miserable, Lena gathered herself together and decided to stretch out her muscles for a few minutes. She didn't know what to expect that day, but she had an inkling that it was going to be just as much of a whirlwind as the day prior. She changed into the new set of clothes that had been given to her, smiling meekly when she saw that the pants were still black, but the shirt was a t-shirt made out of a lightweight gray material.

She had just pulled on her boots and stood up when someone suddenly banged on the door. Lena jumped, turning to look as the door opened a fraction, a blonde head sticking inside. Clint looked over at the empty cot before turning his gaze to where she stood watching him curiously, her hands on her hips and an amused smile on her face.

"Good, you're awake," Clint smiled, making her already tired mind feel like mush, "Come on, we need you."

Lena didn't have any time for questions as he threw the door open the rest of the way, heading off in another direction. She walked out of the room, giving the guard that had been stationed outside of her cell a glance before jogging after Clint, catching up with him and matching his brisk pace.

"Where are we going?" Lena asked, looking up at Clint.

"Communications," he answered in a clipped tone. He looked every bit a secret agent in that moment, with his jaw set and his bright blue eyes narrowed and serious. He was dressed the same as yesterday, and Lena's gaze drifted to the gun in his belt for just a brief second.

They arrived at communications a few seconds later, Coulson's head snapping up to look at Lena immediately. The room was small with only three walls, the front section leading directly to the outside of the compound. Lena took a deep breath of the fresh air that was distinctly Midgardian. Then she immediately felt like a prick for thinking that.

"Miss Sullivan," Coulson greeted, snapping Lena out of her reverie. "Could you take a look at this for us, please?"

"Uh, sure," Lena replied warily, walking over to the computer he was pointing to. Agent Sitwell was sitting in front of it and she leaned over his shoulder, squinting. "What exactly am I looking at?"

"Massive energy readings," Sitwell told her. "Showed up two minutes ago and then disappeared as soon as they came."

Lena's eyes widened. She was no scientist, but the readings on that screen simulated a startling resemblance to the Bifrost Bridge.

"Where was this?" She asked in a clipped tone. Clint raised an eyebrow as he watched her suddenly switch into that warrior mode he had seen a couple times already, her posture going rigid and her hands hovering over her empty weapons belt where she usually kept her staff.

"Fifteen miles northwest of here."

"And how far away from there is my brother currently at?"

Sitwell didn't reply at first, looking over his shoulder at Coulson, who simply nodded at him to say that he could answer. "A mile. Maybe two."

Lena stood up slowly, taking in a deep breath as she turned to face Coulson. "Agent Coulson… what if I were to tell you that everything you think you know about the world is about to be drastically changed?"

"I would say that I believe you," he answered immediately. "And that you can tell me all about while we go check out that site," he nodded to the coordinates that Sitwell had pulled up on the computer screen.

"Well you see, I would," Lena said quickly before Coulson could spring into action. "But I really need to get to my brother like, ASAP. And it would help me a _lot_ if you would just let me do that so I can stay on your good side."

Clint chuckled under his breath, but fell quiet when Coulson gave him a look. Lena was all smiles and politeness, but underneath that she could be downright scary with her indirect threats.

Coulson took in a deep breath. "I have no reason to trust you, but I'm going to anyway."

"Sir–" Sitwell protested.

"Sitwell, you're coming with me to that site," Coulson continued as he sprang into action, turning on his heel and jogging down the short set of stairs that led to a few sleek black cars. Lena and Clint followed him. "Barton, you take Miss Sullivan to her brother, report to me as soon as you get there." He opened his car door and paused, turning back to them. "Oh and give Miss Sullivan her weapons back," he added with a smile, putting his sunglasses on before hopping in the car and speeding off, dust flying up behind him.

Lena smirked as she turned to Clint, looking up at him with excited eyes. "Well? Get on it then."

Two minutes later, Lena sheathed Gríðarvölr, noticing how Clint's eyes widened when she shortened it just by thinking it, but he didn't ask anything. The two of them got into a black SUV, Clint tearing out of the compound and onto a dirt road. Lena sat up in her seat, her eyes focusing on the small town up ahead.

"That's Puente Antigua?" She asked.

"Yeah. Your brother is still with Erik Selvig and his colleagues."

Lena nodded, but didn't reply. She propped her elbow up against the door, absentmindedly chewing on her thumbnail as she stared out the window.

"So, Arrow Boy," she finally said after a moment, turning to look at Clint, who just raised an eyebrow at her incredulously, "Why not shoot with a gun like a normal secret agent?"

"First of all, you don't get to make fun of me for using a bow when you have a creepy light up staff," he said matter-of-factly. "And secondly, don't call me Arrow Boy."

"Why not? Don't secret agents have to have a codename?" Clint was silent, looking at her sidelong. "Oh my god. You already _have_ a codename, don't you?" She asked with a grin, laughing when he rolled his eyes. "Well come on then, spill it."

Clint looked over at her for a brief second before turning his eyes back to the road. "It's Hawkeye," he finally muttered, annoyingly embarrassed at saying the name out loud when she was already teasing him.

"Hawkeye," Lena said the name slowly, letting it roll off her tongue smoothly. Clint's stomach lurched at the sound and he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "I actually like that," Lena continued, surprising him further. "It fits you. Agent Clint Barton – _Hawkeye_."

Clint had never loved the sound of his own name as much as he did in that moment.

They pulled up to the town then, Lena's expression turning serious again as she leaned forward in the passenger seat and looked all around her. They drove past a few small shops and a diner, the streets empty save for a few people walking. It was still early, so nobody else was driving on the one road going through town. Clint pulled over next to a curb at the very end of the small strip of town.

They both got out of the vehicle, each of them discreetly scanning all around for any signs of trouble. Lena's eyes darted up to the top of a building across the street and saw that there were two armed men up there.

"SHIELD agents?" She asked Clint, raising an eyebrow. He nodded, gesturing for her to follow him.

As they walked up to a building with a front wall made of glass, Lena spotted Thor inside, sitting at a table with three other people – one of them being Erik Selvig. She broke out into a run, not bothering to knock, opening the door of her own accord.

"Excuse me!" The small, petite brunette exclaimed in shock as Lena burst into the building. "Who do you–"

"Sister!" Thor shouted, jumping up from his seat and running over to Lena. He grabbed her in a bear hug, lifting her feet up off the ground. Clint came in behind them, standing at the door with his feet spread apart and his hands clasped together in front of him. Lena was grinning ear to ear when Thor put her down. "You have been released then?" He asked, his eyes flitting over to Clint and hardening.

"Not exactly," Lena answered. "Thor, the Bifrost reopened just a couple miles from here about ten minutes ago." Thor's eyes widened.

"Do you know who it was?"

"I'm sorry," The small brunette woman cut in before Lena could respond, "Did you just say _Bifrost_?"

"Oh, Jane," Thor said breathlessly, realizing he hadn't introduced anyone. "I'm terribly sorry my friends, this is my sister, Lena. Lena, this is Lady Jane, Lady Darcy, and –"

"_Dr_. Selvig," Lena answered for him, receiving a timid smile from the man in question, who looked terribly hungover. "Nice to meet you all, thank you for looking out for my brother. But Thor," she looked back up at him, "I have a feeling that–"

"Uh, Lena," Clint interrupted, making Lena roll her eyes when she turned to look at him, annoyed that she kept getting cut off before she could say a full sentence.

"What?"

"Are you two expecting any company?"

Lena's face crinkled in confusion as she followed his gaze, looking out the glass door. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, as did Thor's, when she saw none other than Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun standing on the other side of the glass, armor clad and armed to the tee.

"Found you!" Volstagg cried out with a grin.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**A/N: This chapter was super hard to write, but it's one of my favorites :) Hope you enjoy, remember to review!**

In the back of Lena's mind she registered glass breaking behind her, but she ignored it, laughing joyfully and rushing over to open the door for her friends.

"Sif!" She cried out, throwing herself into her dear friend's arms. Thor was right behind her, embracing the boys.

"Oh Lena, thank the gods you're alright," Sif breathed out. Lena could hear Volstagg introducing all of them when suddenly Sif pulled back and punched Lena right in the arm.

"Ow!" Lena shouted, feeling Clint tense up from where he stood a few feet to her left. "What the hell was that for?" She asked as she rubbed her now surely bruised arm.

"For leaving without a word!" Sif retaliated angrily, "I'm not sure how it was for you here on Midgard, but in Asgard we tell our friends if we're traversing the universe to save someone!"

"Lena, you did not tell them you were coming?" Thor asked incredulously. "What were you thinking?"

"If you weren't such a fine maiden I might punch you myself," Fandral jumped in.

"Okay, okay, I shouldn't have left without letting you know, geez," Lena held her hands up in surrender. "But can we talk about that later? Because," she glanced over at Thor, "We're glad to see you and all, but… you shouldn't have come."

Their friends looked confused. "We're here to take you home," Fandral said incredulously, looking at them as though it were obvious.

"You know we can't go home," Thor said sadly, Lena's dejected face mirroring his own.

She felt Clint walk up behind her and lean his mouth next to her ear. "What the hell is going on?" He whispered, his voice thick with confusion and slight anxiety.

Lena shivered at his proximity before turning around to face him, eyes wide. "Oh, crap. Right. Okay, truth-telling time, try to keep up. My brother, our friends here, and myself – we come from a place called Asgard which is another realm in the universe. Well technically, I've only lived there three months since my father – the King of Asgard – is my dad. We got here by this big machine called the Bifrost that does like, interspatial travel or something like that–"

"Interdimensional travel, actually," Jane interrupted.

"Yeah, that. Well anyways it's a really long story filled with this one being an idiot," she pointed at Thor, "Giant blue aliens, magic, blah, blah, blah. But basically that's my brother Thor, he's the God of Thunder," she gestured to Thor again, who smiled widely, "I'm his half-sister the Princess of Asgard, and those are our best friends and they can kick _serious_ ass. And you can trust every single one of us. Kapeesh?"

Clint gulped, his eyes darting between the newcomers and their ridiculous clothing, Lena and Thor with their calm, relaxed expressions, and the three scientists who looked as equally stunned as him.

"So…" he finally said, "You're royalty… from space?"

Lena looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah basically. Well, I _was_. Thor and I have been exiled."

"What?" Sif suddenly asked, causing everyone in the room to turn back to her. "What are you speaking of?"

"Sif," Thor spoke solemnly, "My father – our father," he looked at Lena, "Is dead. Because of me." Lena flinched, Clint watching her as her expression turned to one of pain.

"Thor," Sif said firmly, "Your father still lives."

Lena's head snapped up, turning to look at Thor in shock. Sif continued on to explain how Odin had fell into the Odinsleep but was still very much alive, Loki taking the throne and forcing Heimdall to keep the Bifrost closed. Lena grinned when they told of how her Gatekeeper guardian angel had committed treason in order to send them to Midgard to retrieve Thor and herself.

"Hey," Clint suddenly said softly, touching Lena's elbow and leading her away from the group. "I'm supposed to report in to Coulson, but I'm still a bit confused on how to explain to him that you guys are aliens."

Lena rolled her eyes. "We're not aliens, Barton. I lived on Earth for 22 years, I'm just as human as you are. Well if we're talking practically, not technically. The semantics are confusing."

Clint chuckled anxiously as he ran a hand through his mussed up hair, looking around the room to try and comprehend what the hell was going on. Lena kept her eyes on him, telling herself it was to gauge his reaction, but in reality she couldn't look away because he was so damn attractive. What was _happening_ to her?

"And you're a… a Princess?" He continued, still a face of disbelief. "Should I bow or something?"

"Oh shut up," Lena snapped, catching him off guard. "Look, I'm a nobody," she said in a serious tone, her eyes somewhat sad, "I'm just a random girl who happens to be the daughter of a King of another realm and didn't know it until 3 months ago. I'm screwed up beyond words, and that didn't change when I found out I was only half human. I'm still just some girl from Wyoming with a tragic past. The only difference is that I've travelled through space a few times and can fight like a boss." Clint chuckled, shaking his head as Lena smiled up at him. "My brother, my friends and I… we just want to take care of each other. And I'll tell you and SHIELD everything about me – the truth this time – as soon as I can get my brother back to Asgard to take care of our other idiot brother. I'll stay here and answer any questions you ask and let you run any scans you want."

Clint sighed, pursing his lips in deep thought. This was _way_ over his pay grade. But Clint Barton was a hell of a lot smarter than he let on, and he believed and actually understood everything that Lena had told him about other realms and space travel even without all the other necessary details. It made sense, no matter how farfetched it was.

Lena was still staring up at him with wide eyes and _damn she's beautiful_, Clint thought to himself. He probably would have done anything she asked in that moment. All he wanted to do was get to know her, and he would admit that his stomach had lurched earlier when Sif had said they were there to take her and Thor home. He didn't want her to go. He wanted to learn everything he could about the mystery that was Lena Sullivan. But would a Princess of another Realm want anything to do with _him_?

"Well alright then," he finally said, Lena's face lighting up. "So just to be clear, 'princess' probably isn't a pet name you'd be too fond of?"

"Watch it," Lena pointed an index finger at his face.

Suddenly thunder burst overhead, everyone in the room turning to look at Thor accusingly. "It wasn't me," he held his hands up.

With a glance back at Clint, Lena walked out of the building with the others into the street. "What the hell?" She murmured under her breath, the group of nine looking out past the town and into the desert where what looked like a tornado funnel was slowly descending. But it was no ordinary tornado.

Suddenly the funnel descended in one rapid swoop, making a crashing sound that had several people on the streets stopping and pointing.

"Was somebody else coming?" Darcy asked slowly.

The group spread out into a line, Lena in between Clint and Thor. She unsheathed Gríðarvölr and whipped it to its full length, Clint looking on with a raised brow.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Lena murmured under her breath. Suddenly flashes of what looked like fire appeared where the funnel had descended, and more crashing could be heard in the distance.

"I'll be right back," Clint murmured, running over to the SUV to grab his bow, Lena presumed.

"Who could it be?" Lena looked up at Thor. "Heimdall wouldn't let anyone pass that could hurt the people here."

"Yes, but Heimdall might not be in control of the Bifrost at the moment," Sif spoke gravely a few feet down. Lena leaned forward and made worrisome eye contact with her friend.

Clint was back at that point, strapping his arrows across his back. Lena looked at him appreciatively, raising an eyebrow.

"Jane," Thor suddenly turned to the petite woman, "You have to leave."

"Hey Thor," Lena interrupted, squinting her eyes to see better into the distance. "I think… I think that's the Destroyer." She said incredulously.

"The what?" Clint turned to her in confusion.

"What are you gonna do?" Jane asked Thor as Lena floundered for a way to explain what the Destroyer was to Clint.

"I'm staying here," Thor said.

"Thor is gonna fight with us!" Volstagg cried.

"Could somebody tell me what we're fighting?" Clint asked anxiously.

"Oh it's nothing really, just this… giant killer robot thing that shoots fire," Lena replied in a mock casual voice, shrugging her shoulders offhandedly. Clint looked at her like she was insane.

"Giant killer robot?" Darcy asked. "That sounds like the name of a really bad garage band."

"My friends," Thor walked over to Sif and the Warriors Three, "I'm just a man. I'll only be in the way, or worse get one of you killed. But I can help get these people to safety." He looked around the street at the townspeople.

"Well, if you're staying, then so am I," Jane suddenly said, all boldness in her barely five foot frame. Thor looked down at her thoughtfully, and Lena cocked her head to the side in confusion. What was going on _there_?

"We'll need some time," Thor finally said, starting to walk off in the direction of the nearest building.

"You'll have it!" Fandral assured him.

Lena made brief eye contact with Clint, who nodded at her as they both took off to herd people off of the street and out of buildings into their vehicles so they could leave town.

The tiny little town of Puente Antigua was in full on evacuation mode within the next five minutes. Clint and Lena had teamed up wordlessly, helping get a bunch of school kids loaded onto a bus. Lena's eyes kept glancing over to where the Destroyer was coming closer and closer, tremors shooting down the street with each of its giant steps.

"You weren't kidding about the whole giant killer robot thing," Clint said to her at one point, making her laugh through her fear.

"Lena," Thor suddenly appeared beside them as Clint banged the side of the truck with his fist, letting the driver know to leave. "You and your friend must go as well."

"Excuse me?" She asked incredulously, "You're kidding, right?"

"Yeah, not happening buddy," Clint said, shaking his head and pulling his bow over his head where it had been resting between his shoulders. "If she stays, I stay."

"And how come you're telling me to leave when you're letting your little crush stay?" Lena shot back, ignoring the questions plaguing her mind about the implications of Clint's, 'If she stays, I stay' statement.

"I – what?" Thor spluttered.

"Don't 'what' me. I saw the way you and Jane were looking at each other! So you don't get to play the big brother routine when–"

Lena was cut off as a building two blocks down suddenly exploded in a burst of flames, the force sending the three of them falling to the ground. Clint and Thor were up before she was, Clint grabbing her arm and hauling her to her feet.

"Come on!" He shouted.

"Wait, wait!" Lena pulled against him after he had dragged her about ten feet. She looked back at where she had dropped Gríðarvölr, extending her hand as the staff sailed through the air and into her grasp.

"Woah," Clint murmured in shock albeit appreciatively. Lena grinned, waggling her eyebrows at him before they took off running down the street with buildings and cars going up in flames behind them.

As Lena looked over her shoulder to see where the Destroyer was at, her gaze shot over to a young girl standing in the middle of the street all alone. The Destroyer was a few blocks down from her, but the girl was standing next to a gas station.

The same gas station that the Destroyer was currently turning towards.

"No!" Lena shouted, turning on her heel instantly, sprinting faster than she had ever moved before. She came to a screeching halt beside the little girl, but she hadn't been fast enough to move her before the gas station was hit by the Destroyer's flames.

The gas station exploded, and Lena's gut instinct was to crouch down beside the little girl, covering the child's body with her own and extending her staff horizontally in front of her. She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the inevitable.

But the inevitable never came. Lena opened her eyes slowly, wondering how she hadn't just burned to death, only to gasp in shock when she saw that Gríðarvölr had created some sort of blue force field in front of her. The staff's engravings were shining brighter than ever. Flames licked up the side of the shimmering transparent shield, but Lena and the little girl were completely protected.

Seconds later, the flames were gone and the force field disappeared on its own, Gríðarvölr's engravings dimming to their normal color.

"Woah," the little girl gasped, looking up at Lena with wide, innocent eyes.

"Yeah," Lena agreed. "Woah."

"Lena!" Clint shouted, running up to the two of them as they stood up. "Come on, we gotta move!"

Lena hauled the girl up into her arms, the three of them taking off into a run down the street. A crying woman waved them down and the little girl cried out, "Mama!" Lena transferred her into her mother's arms before pointing them towards a van that was just about to leave. Right as they were leaving though, the little girl grabbed Lena's hand. "I wanna be brave like you when I grow up."

Lena froze, her mouth breaking out into a small smile before winking at the little girl and running off to where Sif and the Warriors Three were stalking down the street, Clint by her side.

"Are you crazy?" Clint asked amidst the sounds of crashing behind them, "I thought you were gonna get yourself killed, you could've told me your staff did that little trick!"

"I didn't know it _could_ do that," Lena replied with a shrug.

"What?!" Clint asked in a very unmanly shriek.

"Lena," Sif said as they approached, looking every bit like the warrior that she was. "How would you like to reenact our duel with Almsteinn?"

Lena's eyebrows shot up, her face breaking out into a grin. "Oh Sif, I would _love_ to."

Sif smirked, turning to the boys. "Keep it distracted," she muttered as she and Lena took off to the side of a nearby building.

Before Lena could get too far though, Clint grabbed her arm. She stopped, turning to look up at him with a curious expression. "Hey… be careful," he said seriously.

Lena smiled, her heart beating fast from the combination of Clint touching her and the thrill of battle. "You too, Hawkeye," she said with a wink. With that she took off again, following Sif up the fire escape and to the roof.

When Lena got to the top of the building, she was taking deep breaths, bouncing on her toes. She looked over the side of the building and saw the Destroyer walking through flames towards the Warriors Three. Clint was with Thor now, helping get more people to safety.

Suddenly, Volstagg broke out into a run, giving a fierce battle cry as Hogun and Fandral launched him at the Destroyer. Volstagg sailed through the air only to be backhanded by the giant machine and thrown into the windshield of a car. Lena winced.

"Are you ready?" Sif asked, standing beside Lena a few feet away from the edge of the building, her double sided sword in hand. Lena smirked, swinging her staff to lengthen it as far as it would go.

"Oh yeah. I'm ready."

The two warriors broke out into a run, launching themselves off the top of the building with every ounce of strength they had. They landed at the same time, Sif's sword piercing through the Destroyer's metal throat column while Lena's staff pierced through its back in a shower of blue sparks. The machine collapsed in itself, held to the ground by Sif's sword as its fiery insides whirred down. The two girls were back-to-back and they looked over their shoulders, grinning at one another.

But it was too good to be true. The Destroyer began to start back up, its metal parts spinning around so that its entire frame twisted to face Lena and Sif. Fire built up in its face area, pointing directly at Sif.

"Move!" Lena screamed just before it fired, the two girls rolling off of the Destroyer on opposite sides. Lena jumped to her feet just at the machine lifted itself off of Sif's sword.

"Fall back!" Sif shouted, taking off into a run with Lena following suit.

The Destroyer wasn't done with them yet though, shooting off a terrible beam of fire through the street after them, taking out buildings and power lines in the process. Lena felt someone grab her around the waist, pulling her down to the ground just in time to avoid a car flipping right into her.

She looked behind her to see that it was Clint who had pulled her out of the way, the both of them lying on the ground with dirt on their faces. There was blood running down the side of Clint's temple and she immediately felt terrible.

"Are you alright?" She asked quickly, moving to sit up on her knees and grab the sides of Clint's face, inspecting his wound.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he muttered. "You realize you're crazy right? You're actually insane. You just jumped off of a building onto a giant killer robot! Who does that?"

Lena laughed, shaking her head as the two stood to their feet. "Surprisingly enough, this isn't my first time fighting a giant."

Before Clint could respond there was another crash. They both lifted their hands up, shielding their eyes from the fiery blasts. Lena looked across the street to see the Warriors Three being thrown into a diner, the glass crashing all around them. She saw Volstagg sit up looking disoriented, then followed his gaze to the Destroyer.

"Run!" Lena screamed, darting out into the street to try and serve as a distraction, but to no avail.

The diner exploded with the Destroyer's blast, sending everyone flying. Clint and Lena flew into the side of the building behind them, crashing to the ground painfully.

Lena had to blink away stars as the ringing in her ears started to fade. She looked over to see Clint on his stomach, using his forearms to try and push himself up off the pavement. Her gaze lifted to see Thor run over to Sif behind a car, barely twenty feet away from her and Clint.

"Clint," she gasped out as she stood, feeling as though she may have cracked a few ribs, "Clint you have to go."

"No way in hell," he muttered in response, shakily standing up to his full height and beginning to load an arrow.

"Stop," Lena grabbed his arm and pulled it down to his side. "The Destroyer is invincible, Clint. Literally invincible. I was an idiot to think Sif and I could stop him."

"Well then what are we–"

They both ducked as a crash sounded behind them, Lena turning to see Thor roll out of the way of the car that he had been crouching behind as the Destroyer blasted it.

"Thor!" Lena screamed, taking off across the street out of the Destroyer's line of sight, Clint right behind her. They caught up to her brother just as he approached Sif and the Warriors Three, all of them looking worse for the wear.

"Are you alright?" Lena asked anxiously, turning Thor to face her and checking him for any injuries.

"Yes, yes, I am fine. But you must return to Asgard, all of you." He looked back to their friends. "You have to stop Loki. And take Lena with you."

"What about you?" Volstagg asked.

"Don't worry, my friends," Thor said with a smile. "I have a plan."

They looked unconvinced, but eventually the four complied.

"Come on. We need to fall back." Fandral said, leading them away towards Jane, Darcy, and Erik.

"Lena, you must go," Thor grabbed her by the shoulders. "Take your bowman friend and leave this place."

"Absolutely not," she knocked his hands away. "You're my brother, and I have a feeling that whatever stupid plan you have is probably going to get you killed."

"Lena, sister," Thor said softly, "I have been arrogant and foolish in the way I have treated my friends and family. I will not let you get hurt when you still have so much of a life to live," he said firmly, bringing tears to Lena's eyes. "Now I beg of you, go. Make sure Jane and the others are safe."

Lena laughed, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. "You're on earth for barely 48 hours and you already have a girlfriend."

Thor laughed as well, bringing his sister into a hug. "Please," he looked over to Clint, "Keep my sister safe."

Clint nodded wordlessly, gently grabbing Lena by the hand and running with her away from Thor and towards the others.

When they reached the group, everyone started to run into the building behind them, but Lena looked over her shoulder and froze.

"Wait," Jane said, echoing her sentiment. Everyone froze, turning to watch as Thor began to walk down the street and up to the Destroyer. "What's he doing?" Jane asked breathlessly.

"He's going to talk to Loki," Lena replied in realization. "Loki is King right now, he's the one controlling the Destroyer." Her voice cracked.

"I can't let him do this," Lena continued after several seconds of terrible silence, Thor and the Destroyer getting closer to one another with each step. "Thor!" She shouted, starting to go after him, but Clint grabbed her around the waist again. "Let me go!"

"Let him do this," Clint said harshly, holding tightly to her flailing form, "You getting killed isn't going to help him."

Lena eventually calmed down, still in Clint's hold as she breathed heavily, tears falling down her face. Finally, Thor and the Destroyer were right in front of each other, the terrible machine brightening as it powered up to blast Thor to kingdom come.

"No," Lena gasped, "Please."

Nothing happened for a few seconds, everyone holding their breath. But then, as if by a miracle, the Destroyer whirred down, the fire disappearing from inside its metal body. Lena let out a breath of relief, thanking the heavens.

But then just as the Destroyer turned to walk away, it slung its great metal arm backwards into Thor, sending him flying all the way down the street and crashing to the ground.

"Thor!" Lena cried out at the same time Jane shouted, "No!" Lena tore herself away from Clint, taking off in a run ahead of the others. She and Jane both skidded to a stop where Thor had crashed on his back, each girl on one side of him.

"Thor! Oh god, Thor!" Lena shouted, feeling helpless as the others reached them. "It's okay, you're going to be okay," she lied, taking in the lines of blood across his face and chest. Jane was leaned over Thor's face as her brother looked between the each of them.

"It's over," he gasped out, a painful smile on his bloody face.

"No, it's not over," Jane said firmly.

"I mean," Thor continued breathlessly, "You're safe." He turned to look at Lena, "Sister… you all are safe."

"We're safe," Jane echoed, Lena finding herself unable to speak.

"It's over," Thor repeated with a painful yet noble smile.

And with that, Thor the God of Thunder breathed his last breath.

"No," Lena whispered. "No, no. No!" She stood up abruptly, staggering backwards away from Thor's body. His _dead_ body. "Not again. No, this can't be happening," she murmured to herself, her staff dropping to the ground beside her as she ran her hands through her hair.

"Hey, hey," Clint grabbed her by the arm, spinning her around into his arms. Lena didn't even question it, just stood there in his hold as she cried, horrible sounds coming out of her that she couldn't control. After a few seconds passed, she tensed quite suddenly, pulling away from Clint and looking down the street after the Destroyer with a furious expression.

"Loki," she whispered venomously, calling Gríðarvölr into her hand without even looking at where it lay on the ground. "Loki!" She screamed, marching away from the group and down the street.

"Lena, wait!"

But Lena didn't listen to Clint. Instead she thrust her staff behind her with a flick of her wrist, another blue force field erupting it and sending Clint staggering backwards. Lena was being driven by complete and total enraged instinct.

"Loki!" She screamed yet again, her hands gripping her staff so tight it hurt, but she didn't even notice. "I know you can hear me! If you can kill our brother then you can kill me too! Face me, you coward!"

The Destroyer turned slowly, and Lena could just imagine the fuming expression on Loki's face.

"Come on! I'm just a simple Midgardian, aren't I? Kill me, then! Kill me like you killed Thor! You scheming little prick–"

Lena cut herself off as a whistling noise resounded overhead. She and the Destroyer both stopped, Lena looking past him to see what looked like a missile coming right for them. But that was no missile.

"Mjolnir," Lena breathed out.

The hammer whizzed past her head and straight to where Thor lay, bright flashes of lightning bolts crashing all around him. Lena shielded her eyes as Thor's entire body righted itself as he was surrounded with lightning. She looked over her shoulder to see the Destroyer energizing itself yet again, and she cursed under her breath. Before she could make a move though, Thor came flying down the street and straight into the machine.

The Destroyer let off a blast as it was hit, Lena just barely managing to dodge and roll away from the fire. When she looked up, she saw Mjolnir hit the Destroyer in the side of the head, sending it sprawling to the ground.

Lena couldn't help but laugh gleefully as she saw Thor standing on the opposite side of the machine from her, clad in his armor and red cape to boot, all his injuries disappeared.

"Lena, go!" Thor shouted just before he bent his knees and flew up into the air, the wind beginning to blow all around them. Lena complied, scrambling to her feet and calling Gríðarvölr to her before taking off back towards the others.

When she reached the group, Clint and Sif both grabbed her as they ran further away from the massive funnel that Thor was creating. They stood as far back as they could while watching the Destroyer get whisked up by the funnel, flashes of lighting and fire lighting up the darkness.

"What's he doing?" Clint asked.

Lena grinned. "He's gonna get the Destroyer to destroy itself."

Her suspicions were proved correct when suddenly a great burst of energy erupted from the middle of the funnel, sending everyone staggering back a few steps, shielding their eyes from the dust flying all around them.

The funnel disappeared then, the Destroyer crashing to the ground in a heap as Thor casually walked out of the dust with his red cape flying out behind him.

Lena scoffed. "Drama queen," she muttered under her breath as he approached Jane.

"Oh no," Clint mumbled, Lena looking up at him to follow his gaze to where SHIELD agents were pulling up.

Lena whistled lowly, trying to keep from laughing. "Let me guess, you never checked in with Coulson and told him there was a robot from another Realm coming after us, did you?"

"Nope."

"Wow," Lena said slowly, "Sucks to be you."

"Excuse me!" Coulson called out as he approached Thor. "Donald, I don't think you've been completely honest with me." He turned to Lena. "You either, Miss Sullivan."

"Hey, I'm all ready to tell the truth, now," she held her hands up with a smile.

"Know this, son of Coul," Thor said, Lena biting her lip to keep from laughing, "You and I, we fight for the same cause, the protection of this world. From this day forward you can count me as your ally. If you return the items you have taken from Jane."

"Stolen!" Jane interjected.

"Borrowed," Coulson said with a shrug. "Of course you can have your equipment back," he said to Jane kindly. "You're going to need it to continue your research."

"Would you like to see the bridge we spoke of?" Thor asked Jane suddenly, the two of them looking at one another like nobody else was around. Lena didn't know whether to say 'aw,' or to gag.

"Uh, sure," Jane replied calmly, but Lena could tell she was freaking out on the inside and chuckled.

With that, Thor grabbed Jane around the waist and yanked her to his chest as he lifted Mjolnir to the sky and took off.

"Wait, we need to debrief you!" Coulson shouted, but they were already long gone. The agent sighed and pursed his lips before turning to face Lena and Clint. They were both dead silent, waiting to see what he would say. "Well," he finally said to Lena, "Can you fly too?"

Lena burst into laughter, shaking her head. "No, I can't fly. But I _do_ have a magical staff, so I'm almost as cool as my brother."

"We're going to need to have some words, Miss Sullivan."

"I'm aware," Lena replied, her stature turning from amused to business instantly. "And I'll answer anything you want, I've already told Agent Barton that. But I simply can't right now. I have something I need to attend to." With that she turned to Darcy. "Hey, beanie girl," She called out, "Is that your van?"

"No, but I have the keys," Darcy said in an amused yet monotonous tone. Lena grinned.

"Well come on then all of you, let's go," she said enthusiastically as she gestured to Sif and the Warriors Three. They all began to move then, Erik and Darcy and her friends piling into the van. She was just about to do the same when someone grabbed her by the crook of her arm.

Lena spun around to see Clint looking down at her with an unreadable expression.

"You're going after them?" He asked.

"I have to. Heimdall, the Gatekeeper between Realms, he'll listen to me if I call for him. If anyone can get him to open up the Bifrost against Loki's commands, it's me."

Clint nodded, looking down at the dusty ground beneath them. "I have to go back with SHIELD, and start the cleanup."

"Oh, right." Lena nodded. "Of course."

"I…" Clint trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Barton!" Coulson called out, and Clint looked over at his SO in irritation.

"Yeah, one second!" He shouted back, and Lena giggled. He looked back down at her with a small smile and sighed. "Like I said earlier, you're insane." Lena laughed harder at that. "I mean really, I've never met a girl who jumps off of buildings onto robots, or chargers after the same robot with a death wish."

"What can I say?" Lena shrugged. "I'm special."

"Yeah. Yeah, you are," Clint smiled wryly.

Lena sighed heavily, not understanding the feelings that were churning inside her. "I've gotta go," she finally whispered. Before she could chicken out, she stood up on her tiptoes to kiss Clint on the cheek. Then she turned on her heel and began striding over to the van before he could respond.

Just as she reached the van and opened the back door, she looked back over her shoulder to see Clint standing in the same spot staring after her.

"I'll see you around, Hawkeye!" She called back to him with a wink before slamming the door shut.

Clint sighed as he watched the van peel out and drive off towards the Bifrost site.

"Yeah," he murmured, "I'll see you around, Princess."

**A/N: Next chapter is going to be a good one, make sure you favorite/follow the story to know when I update!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows guys! Hope you like this chapter :) **

"So," Sif said as soon as Darcy began to drive away from Puente Antigua towards the Bifrost site just two or three miles away. Lena turned to look at her friend, raising an eyebrow. "Who was your friend with the bow?"

Lena laughed at that, looking down at her lap to hide the blush rising to her cheeks.

"His name is Agent Clint Barton," she finally answered. "He works for the government. We actually got into a fight when I landed here yesterday."

"Did you win?" Fandral asked curiously.

"I did up until he shot a sedative dart into my neck," Lena muttered bitterly.

"Then you didn't win!" Volstagg shouted, making Lena roll her eyes at his boisterous laughter.

"Hey uh, while I find the Asgardian girl chat highly interesting," Darcy deadpanned as the van pulled to a stop, "We're here."

Everyone piled out of the van, Lena striding over to the Bifrost site with purpose. Thor was standing there looking up at the sky with Jane next to him, the ground littered with distinctly Asgardian marks.

"What's wrong?" Lena asked.

"It's Heimdall," Thor turned to her, "Either he cannot hear me or he cannot open the Bifrost."

Lena took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she stepped inside the circle herself. "Heimdall!" She cried out, looking up as well. "Heimdall, please! We need you to open the Bifrost!" Nothing happened for several seconds and that's when Lena began to really worry. Heimdall would never not open the Bifrost if it was her who was asking, she knew that much about her guardian angel. "Heimdall," she whispered almost inaudibly, "We need you… at least show me you're okay."

Little did Lena know that it was her pleading voice and heartbroken expression that Heimdall knew all too well that gave him the strength to break free of his icy prison Loki had trapped him in and open the Bifrost for Lena and her companions.

The tunnel of light came down slowly, giving all of the Asgardians ample time to step inside the circle to be transported back to their home realm. However, Lena hesitated. As Thor was bidding Jane a very heartfelt and mushy goodbye, Lena stood just outside the circle with her mouth slightly parted and face drawn together in deep thought as she stared down at the ground.

"Lena," Fandral said, "Come on, we haven't any time to waste."

"I'm not going," she whispered back, making Thor and the others snap their heads up to face her.

"What?" Thor asked incredulously. "Sister, now is not the time for games."

"I'm not playing any game," Lena shot back at him. "I love you guys, but… I belong here right now. I have to make things right between Asgard and Earth now that they know who we are. Not to mention I can protect Jane and her friends," she gestured behind her, seeing Thor's face soften at the mention of his new love. "You all must go and stop Loki, and protect your home. But I have to stay here and protect _mine_," she said firmly, her voice unwavering. "It's not permanent, but I am staying."

Thor smiled as the light of the Bifrost began to descend upon them. "I am proud of you, Lena," he called out to her. "Don't stay too long."

And with that, Thor winked at her just as the five most important people to her were sucked up by the Bifrost and off to Asgard, disappearing from earthly sight. Lena let out a deep shaky breath, falling to her knees. She knew that she was making the right decision staying on Earth for the time being, but it didn't make her miss or worry for them any less.

After a few seconds though, Lena remembered she was with three other people, not to mention she simply didn't have any more energy left in her to break down in front of them. She took a deep breath and wiped away the single tear that had slipped down her face before standing to her feet with vivacity. She turned around to see Jane staring up at the sky with a sad expression.

"Hey," Lena called out to her, getting the woman's attention, "He'll be fine."

"When will he come back?" Jane asked in a small voice. "He said he would come back for me, but… he didn't say when."

Lena sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "I couldn't tell you, honestly. But I know my brother, Jane. And given the way he was looking at you," Jane blushed, "I don't think he'll take too long."

Jane laughed awkwardly, tucking a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear. Lena smiled, thinking that Thor might have actually picked a good one.

"Hey Darcy," Lena got the other girl's attention as the corners of her mouth slowly turned upwards in a grin, "Would you mind giving me a lift somewhere?"

Just before Lena, Jane, Erik, and Darcy loaded up into the van once again to take her to another location not far away, Lena paused and looked up at the clear blue sky.

"Keep my brother safe, Heimdall," she whispered so low it was almost inaudible, knowing that her guardian angel would hear her all the same.

**xXxXx**

Clint sighed as he loaded another tech box into one of SHIELD's trucks, rubbing the back of his neck with a calloused hand. That Destroyer had really done a number on him, throwing him into buildings left and right. The archer was still trying to grasp everything that had happened not even an hour ago. A giant killer robot from space, gods from another part of the universe, a teleportation… _thing_ that he didn't quite understand. It was all ridiculous and beyond anything he had ever trained for.

And then of course there was Lena. Upon meeting her Clint had been immediately enamored, he wasn't afraid to admit that. The girl could fight like a warrior, had a sarcastic streak that matched his, and was hot as hell to boot. In Clint's line of work he didn't really have the time or patience for women other than on his occasional night out at the bar. But a girl like Lena Sullivan could be a different story. She might be an exception to his theory that a SHIELD agent would only be dangerous to whoever he or she dated. Lena seemed to live and breathe danger anyways, so what was the risk?

But then she had to go and drop the bombshell: the fact that she was a _princess_ for crying out loud. The girl was literally royalty.

"And I'm just a guy loading boxes into a truck," Clint muttered under his breath as he heaved yet another box and tossed it more violently than he intended to, his biceps flexing underneath his black shirt.

"Talking to yourself again, Barton?" Coulson suddenly walked up. Clint didn't reply and continued to load up the vehicle. "Are you alright, Clint? Smith said you didn't get checked out by medical."

Clint scoffed. "I don't need to see medical, Phil. I've had worse."

"You've had worse than a giant robot from outer space?" Phil asked incredulously. "Wow. I'll have what you're having."

Clint chuckled, tossing one more box over before walking over to a set of metal stairs that hadn't been torn down yet and plopping himself down. He looked around at all of the other agents tearing down the compound and sighed. This was the part of working for SHIELD that he didn't enjoy – this and paperwork. If Lena were there she would've had some witty remark about the big bad secret agent archer doing grunt work with all the other brains and muscles.

"You're thinking about her," Coulson interrupted Clint's thoughts, making him look up.

"What?" Clint asked. "No I'm not. Lena's probably already off in… Asgard or whatever it's called by now. She's just some girl, I'm not thinking about her," he lied through his teeth.

"And yet," Coulson sat down beside him, "I didn't say Miss Sullivan's name, but you immediately knew I was referring to her." He raised an eyebrows accusatorily.

Clint stiffened for a moment before exhaling deeply, propping his elbows on his knees and placing his head in his hands.

"The girl's under my skin, Phil," he murmured. "Don't know what it is, but I can't shake her."

"She seems like an extraordinary woman," Phil said. "She'll be a great asset to SHIELD."

Clint chuckled, lifting his head up to look at his friend. "You sound pretty confident she's coming back at some point."

"That's because I am confident. She'll stay true to her word. Lena Sullivan is a good person. Trustworthy, honorable, loyal."

"You met her _yesterday_, you can't possibly know any of that."

"Can't you?" Coulson turned the tables.

Clint sighed because he knew Phil was right. He had been able to tell that Lena was a good person almost right away. He thought back to how worried she had been for the agents Thor had injured, the way she ran to save that little girl with no regard to her own safety, her justified anger at Loki for killing her brother. She was fierce, protective, and loyal to a fault. Amazing characteristics for an amazing woman.

"Besides," Coulson continued, standing to his feet and buttoning the middle button of his suit coat, "I knew the same thing about you not even sixty seconds after we met."

"Yeah well that's because you can see into people's souls or something. It's freaky, Phil. Seriously."

Coulson laughed, putting on his sunglasses. "I'll see you at HQ, Barton," he said as a car pulled up behind him and he opened up the passenger door.

"What, you're not going to help with clean up?" Coulson called out, standing to his feet.

Coulson chuckled. "Nah, that's what the grunt workers are for!"

Clint rolled his eyes as Coulson closed the door behind him and the car sped off, leaving dust in its wake. "Show off," he muttered under his breath, popping his knuckles before getting back to the task at hand.

Tearing down a SHIELD compound was a much bigger ordeal than one would think. Computers had to be packed up, scaffolding torn down, agents rounded up and sent back to their respective HQs. Put all of that together with aching muscles, a racing mind, and a blaring desert sun overhead, and it made sense that Clint was in a particularly pissy mood. So it was no surprise when his phone rang and he answered with a sharp, "What do you want?" without thinking of who might have even be calling.

"Well excuse you," Natasha Romanoff's cool voice replied. Clint sighed, rubbing a hand over his tired face.

"Shit, sorry Nat," he replied.

"What's got your panties all in a twist?" His best friend asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing much," he leaned back against one of the trucks and crossed his ankles, "Just your typical day in the life of a SHIELD agent. Fighting giant homicidal robots and meeting aliens."

"Yeah I heard about that." Clint could practically hear the smirk on Natasha's face. "Word travels fast. I also hear you made a lady friend."

"Who the hell are you getting your intel from?" He asked incredulously before it dawned on him. "Let me guess: Coulson."

"Phil loves you, don't be annoyed with him," Natasha said nonchalantly. "Besides, if he didn't keep me updated on what you're up to these days I wouldn't know if you were dead or alive."

"Sorry, Nat. It's just…" Clint sighed, leaning his head back against the truck behind him and then wincing in pain when did so. "I've been busy."

"Don't lie to me, it's annoying," Natasha said instantly. "But enough of that. Tell me about this girl."

Clint laughed. "You wanna hear about the girl more than the robots and the aliens?"

"Well if I understand correctly, the girl _is_ an alien isn't she?"

"Technically, yes," Clint shrugged even though Natasha couldn't see him. "But alien isn't really the right word. They're kind of… gods. Or demigods, I'm not really sure of the difference. The kind that you read about in Norse mythology."

"Ah, I see," Natasha said curiously. "So is she hot?"

"Yes," Clint said instantly, making his friend laugh. "She's freaking gorgeous, Nat."

"And here I was thinking she'd be short and green and have antennas."

"Nope, no antennas," Clint said as he sighed.

"What's wrong?" Natasha asked after a few seconds of phone silence, knowing Clint well enough to recognize that sigh as a sad sigh.

"Nothing, it's not important," he lied. "Wait, aren't you on a mission right now? In Thailand, right?"

"Singapore, actually," Natasha drawled. "But I'm just staking out the sleezeball's place right now so I wanted to chat."

"Sorry, girl talk isn't exactly my specialty."

"Well make it your specialty," Natasha snapped, albeit fondly. "Clint you never like anyone – let alone a girl."

"Hey I liked you when we first met," he pointed out. "But then it got weird," he backtracked.

"Is it weird with this girl?" Natasha asked. "Her name's Lena, right?"

"Yeah," Clint said as he grinned stupidly. "Lena Sullivan."

"Oh no," Natasha said suddenly.

"Oh no, what?" Clint stood up straighter, snapping himself out of his teenage-like reverie. He needed to get it together.

"You've got it bad," Natasha chuckled.

"I do not," Clint muttered, relaxing again. "And shutup, nothing's going to happen anyway."

"And why not?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe because she's from another part of the universe where she's a freaking princess?"

"What?"

"Oh, Coulson must have left out that very important detail," he said sarcastically. "Lena's the daughter of the _king_ of another _realm_, Nat. Kind of poses a problem, don't you think?"

"Why?" Natasha asked incredulously. "So what if she's a princess. Coulson said she was just a normal girl for the majority of her life. You think she's the type of person to care that you aren't royalty?"

"No, but… it's just weird."

"It's not weird, you're just making it weird because you're afraid," Natasha said in her all-knowing voice that bugged the crap out of Clint.

"You know what, this is a pointless conversation anyways because she left to go back to her home world or whatever to fight the evil brother with the good brother, so it doesn't matter," Clint said quickly, betraying that the issue bothered him more than he wanted to let on.

"Clint–"

"I'll catch you later Nat, be safe," Clint mumbled before hanging up, frustration coursing through his veins.

Of course he had to go and get a teenage-like crush on a girl one million times out of his league – not to mention light-years away from him. Literally.

Clint's fingers were twitching with anxiety as he looked around the area that SHIELD had almost finished clearing out. He wanted to go shoot his bow – needed to go shoot, really. The only thing that could calm his nerves when they were like this was shooting his bow, it had been like that since his days as a carnie where he first learned how.

Clint scoffed at that thought, pocketing his phone before heading over to the last pile of gear to load up into the trucks.

"What would a princess like her want with an ex-carnie like me?" Clint mumbled inaudibly under his breath, sweat dripping down his temples as he tossed the heavy load into the truck. He laid his palms flat against the floor of the vehicle, tilting his head down as he took a few deep breaths to try and calm down.

Just as he was about to stand back up and get back to work so he could avoid all thoughts of blonde hair and blue-green eyes, a familiar voice spoke behind him.

"So I was thinking…"

Clint whipped around so fast his neck cracked, making him wince.

Not even fifteen feet away from him was none other than the very girl plaguing his mind, sitting on the hood of one of SHIELD's cars, legs crossed and her chin resting on her hand.

"I should probably have a codename," Lena continued casually while Clint stared at her in shock. "But like, a cool one. Hawkeye's pretty cool, I'll give you that," she said matter-of-factly. "But mine needs to be _cooler_."

Clint was speechless, which was a rarity for the man who could ramble on about anything for hours. But at that moment all he could do was stare at Lena, who was smirking wildly at him.

"Cat got your tongue, Bird Boy?" She asked with a grin, pushing herself off the hood of the car and hopping down into the dirt.

"What are you…" Clint trailed off as Lena approached him with her eyebrows raised. "I thought you were leaving with your brother?"

"I was," Lena shrugged nonchalantly. "But then I didn't. My brother has his responsibilities, and I have mine." She was just a few feet away from him now, a coy expression on her pretty face. "And besides… I figured the least I could do to thank you for your help today is answer a few questions from SHIELD."

Clint chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "I don't think SHIELD is so concerned with interrogating you as a threat anymore. More like they just want to know what you know so they can hand that information off to some brains at HQ."

Lena shrugged again. "Either one is fine with me. I had some… other reasons for staying too," she looked up at Clint with suggestive eyes.

Clint's face went blank, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he gulped. "What?" He asked, his voice cracking. It was all Lena could do to keep from laughing at his reaction, but she managed to maintain a straight face.

"Yeah," she said in a husky voice, stepping right up to Clint and trailing her index finger slowly down his chest. She looked up at him from beneath her long eyelashes, and she could feel Clint's heart beating rapidly. "For example…" she trailed off, beginning to lean up towards him.

"Does SHIELD have a good pension plan?" She asked suddenly in a normal voice right before Clint's eyes fluttered shut.

"I… what?" He asked in complete confusion.

"Because I mean, I _am_ currently unemployed," Lena said casually, as if what had just happened between them hadn't even happened. Clint looked stupefied. Had he completely misread that situation? "And you did say something about a job. Oh and I'm kind of homeless too," she looked away in mock concern. "That might pose a problem."

Clint had caught on to her joke by now and rolled his eyes, staring down at her lamely. "You're a jerk," he said bluntly, making her throw her head back and laugh.

"I know, I know. But damn, it's just so easy to mess with you," she replied, a genuine smile lighting up her whole face. "But for real," her voice went back to normal as she smiled up at Clint, making it clear that she was being serious now. "If SHIELD will have me… I wouldn't mind working for them."

Clint fought to keep the shit-eating grin off of his face as his mind immediately went to thinking about working side-by-side in the field with Lena. He cleared his throat, crossing his arms and putting on his best 'I'm an intimidating secret agent' expression.

"I don't know," he said, "What are your credentials?"

Lena stood up straighter, playing along with his little mock interview.

"Well," she began with feigned eagerness, "I was the top female fighter in the state of Florida for almost a full two years."

"Go on, go on."

"Not to mention I've fought an army of frost giants with nothing but my staff and my bare hands."

"That's a… pretty good recommendation," Clint said in shock, breaking character.

"And I'm also a demigod, so…" Lena cocked her head to the side. "That automatically makes me kind of a badass. Though I don't have a codename yet, that could be my one flaw."

Clint chuckled, looking down at his feet for a moment before glancing back up at Lena's hopeful expression.

"Well I'll have to think it over," he said with pretend seriousness.

"Oh but of course."

"And I'll have to talk to the man in charge, but…" he paused, "I can say with pretty good authority that you might be exactly what SHIELD needs."

Lena's face softened and she looked up at him innocently. "And what about you?" She asked softly.

Clint sighed, his fingers twitching by his side. But for once they weren't twitching because he wanted his bow, they were twitching because he was aching to touch her in some way.

"You might be exactly what I need, too," Clint said softly, his heart beating fast at the very rare showcase of vulnerability that just wasn't his style.

But the fear was worth it when Lena smiled up at him again. Clint knew then and there that he would willingly bare every inch of his soul to her for the rest of his life if that's what it took to earn Lena Sullivan's smile.

"Well that's good to hear," she said quietly. "Because the feeling's mutual, Hawkeye."

**A/N: HELP, I actually do need to come up with a codename for Lena and I can't think of one, wahhh.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**A/N: Exciting chapter ahead, I threw in some other MCU characters you might recognize ;) Enjoy, and remember to review! **

Clint Barton fired off six arrows all in succession so quickly that the average onlooker would have thought it was a trick of some sort. After the sixth arrow he let his shoulders relax and lowered his bow. On a normal day, he would've been pleased at the sight of all six target dummies falling over with his prized arrows impaling their foreheads. Unfortunately though, it wasn't a normal day for Clint. To be more precise, the past three days since he had left New Mexico for the Washington, DC SHIELD headquarters hadn't exactly been normal.

As soon as Lena had said she wanted to be a part of SHIELD, Clint made a vow to himself that he was going to do everything in his power to make that happen for her – the exact same way he had helped Natasha three years prior when he was sent to kill her but made a different call.

Clint had made some phone calls to Coulson while the rest of the compound was still being packed up back when they were in New Mexico, Lena laughing when he rolled his eyes at his handler's 'I told you so' attitude. Fortunately, Coulson had already made several calls himself to the Director of SHIELD, Nick Fury.

So before they knew it, the pair was being whisked off by a helicopter to a nearby military air base where they were then flown straight to DC. Clint had been able to tell that Lena was jumpy and nervous during the flights even though she was desperately trying to hide it, so he kept her constantly talking. He asked for more explanations about Asgard, her brothers, her friends, her life before she knew her true parentage, and so on and so forth. She was more than willing to tell him about herself, and that made Clint happier than he was willing to admit.

Natasha had been right. He had it bad for this girl.

The second they landed at the SHIELD airbase in DC though, none other than Nick Fury himself was standing there waiting for them. Clint warned her as they were coming off of the plane of the Director's tense stature and typically harsh attitude, assuring her that he wasn't as much of a dick as he tried to come across as. So it was safe to say that when the Director greeted her as Magdalena instead of Lena, it caught Clint by surprise when she snapped back, "Listen here Trench Coat, I've already had to tell one guy with an eye patch that my name is _Lena_, not Magdalena, so if you don't mind I'd rather not have to go through that process all over again."

And then, even more to Clint's surprise, the Director had laughed. And not his sarcastic 'I'm not really amused I'm just pretending to be to make you feel like an idiot' laugh, but a real one.

"I like you Lena," the Director had said, making Clint look around at the other agents on the tarmac like a crazy person. Nick Fury didn't _like_ people, what the hell was going on? "You don't seem like you take much shit, let alone from someone you don't know. That's smart. Can't trust hardly anybody these days is what I always say."

"I like to think that I can trust the people who are willing to put their trust in me," Lena had replied without missing a beat.

"That's a tricky way to think," Fury cocked his head to the side at her response, his one good eye staring into Lena's own two blue ones. "Sounds a bit like opening the door for anyone to waltz in and mess you up."

"If we don't allow people chances to be good in the fear that they'll be bad, it says more about us than it says about them," Lena said wisely, not breaking eye contact with Fury. She wasn't easily intimidated.

A tense silence descended upon the two of them and Clint could only look back and forth and wonder what was going to happen next. Finally though, the Director smiled.

"Miss Sullivan, I think you're going to be a great asset to SHIELD," he had said honestly. Lena broke out into a grin. "Why don't you follow me to my office."

"Yes sir," Lena had replied politely, but Clint could sense the excitement behind her words.

"Director," Clint finally spoke just as the two were walking away, his eyes nervously glancing over to Lena. "I think that–"

"Don't worry Agent Barton," Fury held up a hand, knowing exactly what Clint was going to say thanks to Phil Coulson's intuition. "You recruited Miss Sullivan, so you'll be her handler." Clint wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but forced himself to remain composed. "But considering the fact that she _is_ technically from outer space," he looked down at Lena who just shrugged, "You can understand that we're gonna need to ask her some questions and debrief her before she starts training."

"Right. Of course sir," Clint replied as he nodded. And he understood, he really did, he just didn't like it. He trusted SHIELD and the Director with his life, but did he trust them with Lena's?

"Don't worry Hawkeye," Lena said with a grin as she walked backwards across the tarmac following the Director, keeping her eyes firmly trained on Clint, "I came back the first time I said I'll see you around, didn't I?" She held her hands out and Clint laughed as she winked before turning around and jogging after the Director where she got into a SUV with him and took off towards HQ.

And now, three days later, Clint still hadn't heard a single word from her or anyone else about her. And on top of that, there was nothing he could do. He was a high up agent of course, but it wasn't like he could barge into the Director's office or the labs run by all the SHIELD brains and demand to know where Lena was.

The first full day after she left with Fury, Clint had done paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork about what he had seen and done in New Mexico and everything that Lena had told him. It was especially miserable considering Clint couldn't stop thinking about Lena the entire time.

The second day, Natasha had come back from her mission which was a relief for two reasons: 1) He was glad to see that she was okay except for a nice bruise on the left side of her head, and 2) she was a distraction. The two of them trained together most of that day, Natasha seeming to somehow know that he really didn't want to talk about Lena any more than he had to especially since virtually every other SHIELD agent at HQ was talking about the 'girl from another world' that he had recruited. So Natasha didn't ask much, he didn't say much, and it worked out great.

And now it was the third day and Natasha was off meeting some of the new SHIELD recruits (and by meeting SHIELD meant scaring the absolute crap out of all of them), so Clint was left to his own devices. He'd been up since 6 am, and the past several hours had been consumed with shooting his bow, running a few miles, and sparring with some agent he had never met named Grant Ward (Clint kicked ass all three times).

But now it was approaching lunchtime, and the gym was emptying out as other agents either went to eat, went to meetings, or were simply done with their training for the day. But Clint Barton without a mission didn't have much else to do _besides_ train.

And now that there was a mysterious and beautiful girl plaguing the back of his mind every second of every day, he welcomed the frustration and aching muscles as he reloaded his bow.

**xXxXx**

"But if you would just let me–"

"Destroy it."

"It has the potential to open up the doors to so many opportunities in the fields of medicine and–"

"Simmons I like you," Lena held up her hand to the stunningly gorgeous British SHIELD scientist who currently had a pleading expression on her face, "I really do. But if you don't destroy that blood sample right now, I'm going to destroy your pretty little lab."

Jemma Simmons gasped, looking every bit offended. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh but I would, English," Lena said matter-of-factly. "I'm not going to take the risk that my blood could end up in the hands of some terrifying mad scientist who could… I don't know, clone me or make some creepy Asgardian wannabe android or something else equally terrifying," she muttered.

"Actually," Jemma's partner Leo Fitz popped his head up from behind Lena's staff that he was scanning for what seemed like the millionth time, "A mad scientist would probably need more than just a blood sample to clone you."

"Quite right Fitz," Jemma said, "He or she would most likely also need brain tissue to achieve the best results. That being said, are you still not–"

"You are _not_ poking around in my brain," Lena pointed at Jemma who seemed to shrink under her fierce gaze.

"There's got to be something I'm missing," Fitz muttered to himself as he stood to his full height and placed his hands on his hips, looking down at Lena's staff. "Perhaps… perhaps there's a DNA sensor somewhere on here that allows the weapon to recognize who's holding it. Because when I pick it up," he lifted the staff with both hands and scoffed, "Nothing happens. See? It's just a piece of unidentifiable metal. But then it does everything else when you hold it," he pointed the staff at Lena.

Lena chuckled at Fitz's frustration, noting how his Scottish accent got thicker when he couldn't figure something out. Fitz was a cute guy no doubt, but he was too timid for Lena to find him attractive beyond his physical attributes. He and Simmons were adorable together though, despite the fact that they adamantly denied being anything more than friends every time Lena brought it up the past two days she had been cooped up in their lab being poked and prodded and scanned by every device known on earth.

"Well if there were a DNA sensor on it," Lena said knowingly, extending her hand. Fitz jumped as Gríðarvölr left his hands and flew through the air so fast he would have missed it if he had blinked, sailing right into Lena's outstretched palm. The engravings lit up as they always did when she touched it and Lena grinned. "Then I wouldn't be able to do that now would I?"

"Magnetic sensors," Jemma suggested matter-of-factly. "That's got to be it. Fitz, did we scan for electromagnetic impulses in her arms?"

"Yes Jemma, but nothing came up."

"Perhaps if we reset the image parameters to match the metal of the staff we can–"

"Children, children," Lena interrupted loudly, bringing Fitz and Simmons' racing minds to a screeching halt. "You two promised me," she lowered her voice, "That after you did _your_ last blood sample," she turned to Jemma who flushed and looked away, "And _your_ last scan," she whipped her head back around to Fitz, "That I would be done. Now please, please, _please_ let me be done," she all but got on her knees and begged.

Jemma sighed heavily, her long brown ponytail whipping behind her shoulders as she turned to face Fitz. "She's right, Fitz. We've done everything we can. It's just simply unexplainable."

"Oh it's explainable," Lena said, getting both of their attentions as she shortened Gríðarvölr and sheathed it with a grin. "It's magic," she whispered for dramatic effect.

"Oh shutup," Fitz said at the same time Jemma muttered, "Magic isn't real."

Lena laughed, grinning at the two SHIELD scientists that she had quickly become friends with during her extended time in their lab. But no matter how much she liked them, she was ready to get the hell out of there.

"Jemma, seriously though," Lena's demeanor turned stern, "Destroy that blood sample. Right now, where I can see you do it."

"Fine, fine," Jemma held up her hands, walking over and picking up the slab of Lena's blood that she had been examining as well as the vial containing the rest she had drawn. She walked over and placed both in a machine, pressing a button that made extremely high pressure steam sterilize the blood and then incinerate it for safe measure. "There, are you quite happy now?"

"Very," Lena said with a bright smile, shrugging on her brand new SHIELD official silver jacket. She looked back to Jemma and Fitz fondly. "You know, I could've gotten stuck with two really old gross guys, but instead I got you two. Thanks for everything. I'll come back and visit, okay?" She said as moved forward and hugged Jemma first, and then poor little awkward Fitz.

"You promise?" Jemma asked.

"I promise," Lena assured her, walking to the door. "See you around, Fitzsimmons!"

"That name will never stick!" Fitz shouted after her, but Lena only threw up a hand in goodbye as she laughed and walked out of the lab.

As soon as the door shut behind her, Lena closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. _Thank goodness that's over now_, she thought to herself. The past three days had been a complete whirlwind, albeit an exciting one. As soon as she had left the airbase with Fury, she had had a long meeting with him telling him everything that was need-to-know about herself. He seemed to have good faith that she would fit in with SHIELD, which calmed her nerves a little bit. He even seemed to like her, which was surprising.

After the end of that meeting she had attended five other meetings with various high up officials in SHIELD where they created a top secret file on her and decided whether or not she should have to attend the Academy or not. Fortunately, she didn't. And at the end of that very long day she had been issued a bunch of SHIELD clothes and a room at HQ that she promptly passed out in.

The second day she had been led to Fitz and Simmons' lab early in the morning, pleasantly surprised to see how friendly they were. Overfriendly sometimes, but that was okay too. They were ecstatic to be meeting someone of her… stature, and Lena groaned when Simmons told her that everyone at SHIELD was talking about the royalty from another realm that had been recruited for SHIELD. "I bet Barton is loving that," she had muttered under her breath, making Fitz and Simmons gasp that she actually knew the famous Agent Barton. That had made her laugh for a good five minutes.

And now finally, after three nonstop days of talking and explaining the same things over and over again, she was done. Maria Hill, Fury's right hand woman, had told Lena that as soon as Fitzsimmons cut her loose with a good report it meant that she was good to go to start her SHIELD training under Barton.

"Well now where the hell do I find him?" Lena muttered under her breath, looking up and down the hallway looking for someone to ask for directions to the nearest master archer. About twenty feet down she saw two agents parting ways, one of them heading in her direction. "Excuse me," she called out to the man.

He looked up at the sound of her voice, not even trying to hide the fact that he checked her out. Lena had to fight not to roll her eyes.

"Hi, I'm kind of new here," Lena said as she approached the tall, buff, brown-haired agent, "And I don't really know where anything is."

The man chuckled, crossing his arms and obviously flexing. Lena wanted to gag.

"Well where are you trying to go, rookie?" He asked in a deep, husky voice.

"I'm actually looking for someone," she explained. "Agent Barton? Do you know where he is?"

The man scoffed. "You're looking for Barton?" Realization suddenly dawned on his admittedly attractive face. "Oh, I get it. You're the girl everyone is talking about. From the other planet or whatever."

"Another realm actually, but that's not important," Lena shrugged. "Look can you help me find him or not?"

The man smirked. "Sure thing, Your Highness," he bowed mockingly and Lena wanted to punch him in the face. "Follow me."

Reluctantly, Lena followed the man, noting his arrogant gait. She knew it was too good to be true that everyone at SHIELD would be nice and courteous to her. If rumors had been circulating about where she was from and her royal stature, she would probably be getting a lot of curious looks during her time here.

"By the way, the name's Rumlow," the man called out to her over his shoulder. "Brock Rumlow."

"I'm Lena," Lena muttered in reply, looking all around her and trying to remember the layout of the building.

"So Barton recruited you?" Rumlow asked, making Lena roll her eyes as she tended to do so often. She really didn't want to chit-chat with this guy.

"Yepp," she replied dryly.

"That's a shame," Rumlow said. "I would've loved to be the one to train you."

Lena wanted to throw up.

"Yeah well maybe we can spar some time," she said in a fake flirty voice. "I'd really love to kick your ass for calling me your highness."

"Oooh, hot _and_ feisty!" Rumlow shouted with laughter, catching the attention of several other agents that they passed. Lena's face was expressionless with no traces of amusement. "I think I'll take you up on that offer sometime, Princess."

Before Lena could retort with a snarky reply or punch Rumlow in the face, he came to a stop outside of an open set of double doors.

"Here you go, _Your_ _Highness_," he emphasized the title condescendingly, laughing as he turned on his heel and walked away.

"What a prick," Lena mumbled under her breath as she watched him go. Sighing and shaking off Rumlow's dirty attitude, she turned to face the doors he had led her to, quietly stepping inside.

The room was huge, like a giant over packed gym with a sparring ring, several shelves of various weapons alongside the walls, and targets lined up in every corner. Lena smiled sadly, thinking that Jem would have loved this place.

The room was also empty, save for one person that Lena recognized immediately.

Clint had his bow in hand, shooting off arrows rapidly at targets scattered along the opposite wall. He had his back to Lena and was obviously so far into the zone that he hadn't heard her enter the room. She creeped further inside quietly, sitting on the edge of the sparring ring and watching him.

While she knew that Clint was a good bowman from the way she saw him carry himself in New Mexico as well as the stories she had heard from Fitzsimmons, she never imagined he was _this_ good. His movements were so graceful, never a moment of hesitation, doubt, or insecurity. She watched the muscles in his back and across his shoulders ripple underneath the fitted black sleeveless shirt he was wearing, feeling strangely turned on.

He never missed, that was the first thing she noticed about his skill. Every arrow he shot hit exactly where he wanted it to, knocking out target dummies left and right. Lena was imagining how his surely calloused fingers would feel caressing her skin when he shot the last arrow from his quiver.

Clint was breathing heavily, his shoulders starting to hurt. He hadn't shot so much in one day like this in a very long time, and it annoyed him how his muscles were reacting. The logical side of his brain though knew that he had overworked himself. He let out a deep breath, raising a hand to rub the back of his still sore neck.

He turned around slowly when someone began to clap, his eyes widening when he saw Lena sitting at the sparring ring with her legs crossed and her hands coming together in applause. She was grinning, and Clint's entire body inexplicably felt lighter just by seeing her.

"Lena?" He asked as she stopped clapping, feeling stupid for not thinking of something better to say than her name. "What are you… how long have you been there? And how the hell do you keep sneaking up on me?"

Lena laughed. "Just long enough to see you totally destroy those targets," she said appraisingly, making Clint feel suddenly self-conscious – which was extremely annoying to him. Self-conscious was simply not his style. "Seriously, that was awesome," she continued as she hopped down from the ring.

Clint took in her appearance, feeling thankful he had chosen to wear pants that day and not gym shorts. She was wearing SHIELD clothing, tight black pants and black boots and a dark gray fitted shirt with a light silver jacket over top. Her hair was up in a slightly messy ponytail, loose hairs falling around her face. She looked beautiful, but beyond that, she looked like a SHIELD agent, which was surprisingly arousing.

"Where have you been for the past 3 days?" Clint asked as she walked up to and then around him over to the dummies he had just shot. He turned to follow her movements. "What did Fury say?"

Lena leaned down over one of the dummies, yanking out one of Clint's arrows and inspecting it thoughtfully.

"Well the first day I had to go to like, a _bajillion_ meetings," she said dramatically, walking slowly back towards Clint. "And the second day I got stuck in a lab, which is where I've been up until about five minutes ago." She suddenly looked up from the arrow and at Clint's face with a befuddled expression. "Hey by the way, do you know a guy named Brock Rumlow?"

Clint scoffed. "You mean the resident SHIELD asshole?"

"Thank you!" Lena cried out. "I just spent 60 seconds with the guy and he was such a dick! I kind of wanted to punch him in the dick, too."

Clint laughed at Lena's dramatic outburst and she smiled back up at him. They were both silent for a few seconds after that and she extended her hand holding the arrow to him.

"I believe this is yours," she said softly. Clint took the arrow from her and put it back in his quiver before looking back down at her. "So, _Agent_ _Barton_," Lena turned on her heel, walking over to a shelf full of knives and picking one up to inspect it, twirling it expertly around her fingers. "Since you are officially in charge of my training… where do we start?"

"Well, _Cadet_ _Sullivan_," Clint teased back, making her roll her eyes. "I may technically be in charge, but…" he paused, reaching her in just a few strides. Lena looked up from the knife she was holding and jumped upon realizing just how close they were. "Where we go from here," he said in a deep, serious voice and catching her off guard, "Is entirely up to you."

Lena was frozen for a moment before she slowly smiled, realizing that Clint was talking about _much_ more than their training.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**A/N: Bit of a time jump in this chapter :) This was probably my favorite chapter to write so far though, so I hope you enjoy it! Leave me a review, let's chat!**

**xXxXx**

**1 MONTH LATER**

"Okay," Lena grunted as Natasha Romanoff landed a blow to her left shoulder, "I've tried talking to him," she dodged Nat's cross and went into a crouch, spinning on her knees to get on the other side of her opponent, "But he's just too busy being a," she raised her leg in a high kick that Natasha easily evaded, "Stubborn ass!"

"Yeah but you know that about Clint," Natasha replied through labored breaths as she grabbed Lena's hand mid-punch and spun herself around, "He just needs time to figure out," she winced as Lena kicked backwards into her shin, "What he's feeling."

"It's been a month!" Lena shouted as she spun on her heel, throwing an anger-fueled blow towards Natasha's neck that was easily deflected. "He should have – oof!"

Lena was cut off as Natasha tripped up her feet and shoved her to the ground with her forearm, the senior agent bringing her thumb and index finger in the shape of a gun up next to Lena's head. "Bang. You're dead," she said dryly.

Lena scoffed, shoving Natasha off of her chest. "Like I was saying," she muttered, following her friend outside of the sparring ring where the few people that had been watching them began to disperse. "He should have figured it out by now. Oh and by the way, that fight didn't count. I'm distracted and emotional so you can't hold it against me. We're still tied."

Natasha barked out a laugh, glancing over her shoulder to give Lena an amused expression. "And what, you won't ever get distracted or emotional in the field?"

"No of course not, because I am the picture perfect example of controlled emotions," Lena said sarcastically, bumping shoulders with the redhead as she walked over to a bench and plopped down on it.

"Yeah sure you are," Natasha muttered, handing her water bottle over to her friend. "Look, you need to stop whining about Clint not being able to read your mind and just go talk to him."

Lena rolled her eyes, untying her tennis shoes to avoid looking up at Natasha.

The past month had been confusing for Lena, to say the least. She thought that after that day with Clint in the very gym she was sitting in at that moment, something might happen between them. She had read all the signs correctly, she knew that much. There was something between them – something that went beyond physical attraction. So naturally she had expected for that something – whatever it may be – to be acted upon.

But it never came. If anything, Clint distanced himself as much as he possibly could from Lena considering he was training her (with Natasha's help, to be fair). But the flirting had completely ceased. Not on Lena's part of course, at least not for the first few days. But when every attempt she made to get a rise out of Clint epically and awkwardly failed, she pulled back little-by-little as well.

"It's more complicated than that, Tasha," Lena finally said, shaking her head. "It's not like I expect him to read my mind, I'm not that naïve. It's just that…"

"You want to know why he distanced himself," Natasha finished for her.

"Yes! I mean, there was something going on between us. He was this light, happy, attractive guy that made me laugh and seemed to actually give a crap about me beyond the whole Asgardian stuff, but then out of nowhere he starts this, 'I'm a SHIELD agent and I don't know how to feel things' bullshit." Natasha burst out laughing at Lena's impersonation of Clint.

"That was actually pretty good," Natasha chuckled. "But you can't take it personally. Clint just gets like this sometimes."

"I know that I haven't done anything wrong, but all of this combined with the fact that I haven't heard from Thor or Heimdall at all and I have absolutely no idea what's going on back in Asgard and I'm just… I'm angry, Natasha. I'm freaking angry," Lena said honestly.

"I know. And you're allowed to be angry. But don't let that anger cloud the rest of your judgement. Besides," Natasha said as she stood up, grabbing her bag from her locker. "Word down the grapevine says that you're getting your first mission soon."

"Really?" Lena asked as she sat up straighter.

Natasha chuckled. "Hey, that's just what's going around the rumor mill." She paused, looking down at Lena thoughtfully. The two girls had formed an odd friendship, but a friendship all the same. "You know I can talk to Clint about this if you want me to," she offered kindly.

Lena shook her head. "No, no way. This is my problem, and I'll deal with it. My… whatever that I have going on with Clint isn't going to interfere with your friendship with him. I won't let it. You two have to keep on being the scary master assassin duo without my issues coming in between."

"Yeah well," Natasha shrugged her bag over her shoulder, "That duo could easily be turning into a trio depending on how your first mission goes." She smiled down at her friend. "I'll see you around, Lena. Call me if you need to. Oh! And are we still on for this Friday?"

"You mean the Halloween scare-a-thon?" Lena waggled her eyebrows. "Hell yeah. I'll bring the food if you bring the alcohol."

"Deal. I'll see you tomorrow, rookie," Natasha said with a wave as she left the gym. Lena waved back, pulling on her flip flops as she headed for the showers.

As she turned the water on as hot as it could go, stripping out of her sweaty clothes before stepping under the shower head, Lena could still feel her earlier anger coursing through her veins.

Clint Barton was easily the most frustrating man to walk the earth – no, correction: he was the most frustrating man across all _nine_ _realms_. He was infuriating! He gave all the signs that he was interested, said the sweet things, and then yanked it all back the second that Lena thought he was going to act on it. For the past month it had always been serious business between them and nothing more. He never looked at her in anything other than a professional way (which Lena appreciated, but only to a certain extent), always turned down her offers to hang out outside of training, and never played along with her teasing or joked with her in any way. It was maddening.

And it had been like that for the past month. Granted, it meant that she had learned a hell of a lot more in her training than she would have had something romantic formed between them, but that was beside the point. In all honesty the SHIELD training was a joke to her most of the time considering she had trained under both Jem for two years and then Asgardian warriors for 3 months. But learning how to shoot a gun and throw knives like a pro had been fun, especially since she had caught on so quickly. She was just as good as Clint and Natasha both.

But while the training was enjoyable at times and it wasn't as if Clint was being rude or disrespectful to her, it was driving Lena up the wall that he had been so capable of just flipping a switch and becoming completely indifferent to her. Fortunately she had Natasha to talk to, and of course Coulson and Fitzsimmons, but Lena was greedy – she wanted Clint in her corner too.

Lena leaned her forearms up against the shower wall and closed her eyes as the scalding hot water poured over her head and down the rest of her toned body. She was happy with this new chapter in her life, she truly was. She had new friends, a new home, and new skills that would help her protect others. But she wasn't nearly as happy as she _could_ be. Every day she worried about her family and friends back in Asgard, her mind still completely befuddled at why her brother Loki would betray her, Thor, and their mother and father so easily. And on top of that – why the hell hadn't Thor come back yet? It had been a month and all Lena and Jane were getting was radio silence.

And while Natasha was great at listening to Lena's rants and ramblings about her strangely dysfunctional family, Lena wanted – no, needed – to talk to Clint about it. He had been there with her in New Mexico, he had seen the dynamic between her and her brothers and friends even if Loki hadn't been there in person. But how could she talk to him about any of that when he seemed so adamant on closing himself off to her completely?

"Jackass," Lena muttered under her breath as she shut off the water and got out of the shower.

In just a few minutes time she was dressed in dark jeans and a loose gray button-up blouse that she tucked into her pants. After towel drying her hair – which was much longer than it was a month ago when she joined SHIELD – she ran some mouse through it and tossed on a bit of eye makeup before heading out, gym bag in tow.

After walking through the gym and waving to a few of the agents that she knew, Lena rounded the corner only to run right into someone and stagger back.

"Ouch, watch where the hell you're going!" The person shouted as Lena rubbed her now aching forehead with her hand.

"Sorry, I was – oh. It's you," she muttered upon looking up and seeing none other than Brock Rumlow.

Rumlow looked down at her and smirked, his eyes blatantly glancing down at where her shirt opened just above her cleavage. "Ah, Your Highness, good to see you again. How's life going down here with all of the lowly peasants?"

"Shutup, Rumlow. The 'Your Highness' gag ended a few weeks ago, you can drop it now," Lena snapped as she tried to walk around him. Rumlow side-stepped in front of her though and she took a deep breath to try and calm her temper.

"Oooh, you speak with such authority!" Rumlow mocked. "Should I ask the engineers in the lab to maybe make you a tiara? Maybe that little shit Fitz and his pretty girlfriend can fix you up something–"

"I'm sorry, what did you just call Fitz?" Lena cut him off, letting her bag drop off of her shoulder and to the floor as she stepped up closer to Rumlow, her eyes flaring up in anger.

"You heard me," Rumlow snapped back. "That little Scottish bastard and his snotty girl Simmons would gladly–"

Lena moved quicker than Rumlow expected, jumping forward and bringing a sharp right hook to his jaw before shoving him back against the wall to their right. Rumlow cursed, grabbing her wrist before she could move again and twisting them around so that she was the one against the wall. Lena cried out in pain, then inhaled sharply when Rumlow lifted his forearm up against her throat, making her choke on her own breath.

"That was a really stupid move you little bitch," Rumlow hissed. "I oughta–"

But Rumlow never got to finish the rest of that sentence because suddenly he was being thrown off of Lena and up against the opposite wall. Lena slumped to the ground, taking a deep breath and blinking rapidly. She looked up to the opposite side of the hallway to see Clint holding Rumlow against the wall with a knife at his throat.

"Clint–" Lena gasped, scrambling to her feet.

"You ever touch her again and you'll be asking me for a merciful death, do you understand me?" Clint hissed in a dark voice that shook Lena to her core. She was frozen where she stood, unable to do anything but watch.

"Well would you look at that," Rumlow sneered. "The shining knight has a thing for the princess, huh? What are you going to do, Barton?"

"That's a very dangerous question to ask me right now," Clint said venomously. Rumlow flinched when the knife dug just a little bit deeper into his skin.

"Clint that's enough," Lena finally found her voice. But Clint paid her no mind, his livid eyes boring into Rumlow's. "That's enough, let him go."

"You know she threw the first punch, Barton," Rumlow said. "I could have your precious little Cadet kicked right out of SHIELD for that."

"Go ahead and do that," Clint countered. "I'm sure Fury would love to hear about those weapons you're dealing under the table from your last mission." Rumlow was visibly shaken at that, his eyes widening and his jaw twitching. "So yeah, go ahead and say something." Clint leaned in closer. "I dare you," he hissed.

A few more tense seconds passed before Clint finally jerked away from Rumlow, shoving him back against the wall again in the process. Rumlow looked enraged, his chest heaving up and down as he glanced between Lena and Clint. He shook his head, wiping his hand across the back of his mouth where his lip was bleeding from Lena's punch.

"Bitch," he spat in her direction.

"Walk away, Rumlow," Clint said immediately, his eyes never leaving the other agent.

Finally, after yet another tense silence, Rumlow scoffed and turned on his heel, striding off down the hallway. He kicked over a trashcan angrily before turning the corner.

Lena let out a relieved breath as soon as he was gone, but her relief quickly disappeared when Clint rounded on her.

"Are you crazy?" He asked incredulously, and Lena was glad that the hallway was still empty.

"I… what?"

"You threw the first punch against a dick like Brock Rumlow? How stupid can you be?"

"_Excuse_ me?" Lena found her voice again as anger began to course through her veins. "What the hell, Clint? It's not stupid to show a guy like that that you won't take his shit! Oh and I'm fine by the way, thanks for asking," she added sarcastically.

"Brock Rumlow is one of the best fighters in SHIELD, you didn't have a chance against him without your staff!" Clint shouted, turning on his heel and rubbing his hands down his face before rounding on her again. "Why the hell did you do it anyway? Was it the princess comments?"

"No!" Lena defended herself. "I don't give a shit about his lame ass jokes! He was talking bad about Fitzsimmons!"

"Fitzsimmons? Fitz and…" Clint shook his head, laughing without true humor. "You've got to be kidding me. You punched Brock Rumlow for talking bad about the _brains_? Everyone talks about the brains!"

"That doesn't make it okay," Lena hissed, shocking Clint with her ferocity. Her expression was dead serious. "And quite frankly I don't give a damn if I was outmatched, because I don't have it in me to watch someone treat others as their subordinates just because they're stronger and tougher. Fitz and Simmons both have more heart than a scumbag like Brock Rumlow does on _any_ day. So screw you, Clint. I won't let you make me feel like an idiot for standing up for what's right."

With that, Lena stomped past Clint, shoving his shoulder with her own in the process. He stood there stunned, shocked by her speech.

"Wait, wait," he said quickly, turning around and grabbing her wrist to pull her back to him. She yanked her hand away and looked up at him furiously.

"What?" She spat. "Wanna make me feel like crap some more?" She asked. "Or are you going back to pretending I'm just some random cadet in training that you don't give two shits about?"

Clint was speechless, his expression removed from all traces of earlier frustration. To Lena's surprise, he actually looked hurt.

"Lena, I…" he stumbled over his words, "You can't actually think I don't care about you," he said softly. "I just held a knife to another agent's throat for you!"

"Yeah, and I appreciate you defending me," Lena said honestly. "But that doesn't make the past month of you completely ignoring me just disappear."

"I've been training you! I see you every day!"

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about, Clint!" Lena all but roared, catching him off guard. She was _pissed_. "If I'm nothing more to you than just some girl that you recruited for SHIELD then say so. I'll be fine, trust me. But don't pretend that there wasn't something going on between us before you decided to become Agent Stoic. And _don't_ pretend that I haven't made it perfectly clear where I stand."

Clint was speechless. _Shit_, he thought to himself. If only she understood where he was coming from though, that he had his reasons for distancing himself from her and it was killing him. That when he saw Rumlow shoving her up against the wall he felt a rage inside him that scared him more than anything else. Lena Sullivan scared him, and that's why he had distanced himself, among other reasons. But how could he articulate that to her without screwing up even more?

"Lena… if you would just let me explain–"

"Barton. Sullivan," a voice suddenly interrupted, making the two snap their heads over to see Sitwell standing there watching them curiously. "Conference room next to Communications in five minutes," he said simply, glancing between the two of them one last time before walking away.

Clint sighed, licking his dry lips before turning back to Lena. "If you would just let me explain–"

"We better get to the conference room," she interrupted him tersely. "We're probably getting a mission."

"Right… yeah," Clint said slowly, never looking away from her now sad eyes. And what sucked the most was that he was the cause of that and he hadn't even had a chance to explain his actions.

Now how the hell was he supposed to fix it?

**xXxXx**

"Barton, Sullivan," Maria Hill greeted the two as they stepped into the conference room. Natasha and Coulson were in there as well, talking quietly and looking at a file together on the other side of the table.

"Maria," Lena greeted in a tight voice.

Clint watched Hill's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Ever since Lena had met Fury's right hand woman she had made it her personal goal in life to be overly polite and kind to the all-business senior agent that was always super serious. Natasha and Coulson looked up as well at the very un-Lena-like greeting. Clint shook his head briefly at Natasha when she shot him a curious look as he sat down beside Lena.

"Right," Hill said awkwardly, sitting down across from them as well. "Well as both of you know, when Romanoff was in Singapore last month, she took out the leader of the Ahmad weapons distribution named Kit Ahmad."

Hill slid another file over to Lena and Clint, the two of them looking down at it – both immediately shifting into SHIELD agent mode and forcing their dispute to the back of their mind where they would deal with it later.

"And while we got rid of Kit, his younger brother Remy," she leaned across the table and pointed at a different picture in the file, "Has decided to take up the family legacy."

"The legacy of being a scumbag?" Lena murmured under her breath and Clint chuckled, but quickly fell silent when Lena shot him a glare.

"Unfortunately, yes," Coulson jumped in. "But Remy is much, much worse than his older brother was."

"How so?" Clint asked.

"He doesn't just traffic weapons, he traffics people," Natasha said bluntly, though everyone in the room could sense the anger behind her words. "Men, women, children, he doesn't care. We've been tracking his movements for the past two weeks but he's smart. Unlucky for him," she smirked, "We're smarter."

"So where is he?" Lena asked.

"Dubai," Hill answered. "We've got an inside source there that spotted him and two other infamous traffickers together at the Burj Al Arab. Our intel says they're going to be there for the next week."

"So what do you want us to do?" Lena asked. "Are me, Clint, and Nat just going to bust up inside the richest hotel in the world and take little Remy out?"

"While that does sound fun," Natasha smirked, "I won't be joining you. Remy Ahmad and his associates know my face. Very well actually, I'm at the top of their hit list."

"Oh how nice," Lena said sarcastically, making Natasha laugh.

"You and Barton will be posing as Ross and Felicity Lawrence," Coulson said, standing up and handing them two individual files. "The Lawrence name is well known throughout multiple human trafficking rings. Before SHIELD got to them, they were infamous for selling kidnapped babies to rich couples around the world."

Clint felt Lena tense up beside him, her fists clenching so tight that the file she was holding crinkled at the edges.

"The Lawrences are already expected to attend this sick little convention at the Burj Al Arab this week," Natasha said. "You two are going to go in undercover, find out where they're storing the weapons and people, relay that location back to us, then take out Remy."

Clint looked to Lena to see how she was reacting to everything, but she had her head buried in Felicity Lawrence's file, her eyes scanning every line.

"And Sullivan," Hill said, grabbing Lena's attention, "If this mission goes well… you'll be one of us. A full SHIELD agent." She paused. "Is that something you still want?"

Lena grinned. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good," Hill said shortly. "Make sure you two read up on your covers backwards and forwards, we can't afford any slip ups on this. And get some sleep, you leave at 0500 tomorrow morning."

With that, Hill, Coulson, and Natasha all stood up and headed towards the door while Clint and Lena stayed where they were. Natasha was the last to leave, pausing halfway through the door.

"Good luck, you two," she said with a smile. "And just a friendly suggestion – you two either need to go ahead and beat each other up or make out before you leave. You need to be focused, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence."

As the door closed shut behind Natasha, Lena rolled her eyes and stood up, pacing to the other side of the table with her file in hand. She didn't bother looking over to Clint, but if she had she would've seen his cheeks slightly tinted from Natasha's 'friendly advice.' And if Lena weren't so annoyed with him and focused on her first mission, hers probably would've been too.

"So it says here that Felicity and Ross Lawrence have been married for five years," she murmured, rubbing her lip with her index finger as she tended to do when she was deep in thought.

"Lena," Clint said.

"What kind of relationship bonds over kidnapping children?" She ignored him.

"Lena."

"I mean what were their wedding vows? 'I, Felicity, pledge to love you and kidnap innocent children with you, until death do us part.'"

"Lena would you just–"

"What if they had kids of their own one day? Did they not think about how it might feel if someone–"

"Lena!" Clint raised his voice, finally grabbing her attention. "We need to talk about earlier."

"No actually, we don't," she snapped, not meeting his eyes. "We can do this mission perfectly fine, we're both professionals and one stupid argument doesn't change that."

"Oh really? Then why can't you look me in the eyes?" He asked softly.

Lena huffed, snapping her file shut and placing it on the table in front of her. She looked over at Clint, meeting his eyes with a frustrated expression, her lips pursed. "There?" She asked. "Happy?"

"No," Clint replied. "Because that's not the Lena look that I know best."

"Oh shutup Clint," she snapped back. "You don't know jack shit about me. You might though if you'd actually noticed my existence beyond the training room for the past four weeks."

"Look I know what it might seem like–"

"Oh it seems perfectly clear," Lena interrupted. "You freaked out because something was between us and you weren't feeling it anymore, so instead of just telling me that you backed away. Well just to let you know Barton, that's a really crappy thing to do."

A silence fell between them, Lena's eyes betraying the sadness and rejection she had been trying so hard to hide. She looked away from Clint, crossing her arms and staring at the wall.

"Is that what you think?" Clint finally broke the silence. "That I didn't _like_ you anymore?" Then to Lena's surprise, he started to laugh. "Lena that's… that's ridiculous," he choked out in between his chuckles.

"Alright screw this," Lena snapped, snatching up off of the table and heading towards the door. "I'm not going to sit here and let you ridicule me when _clearly_ you're the one–"

"Lena, stop, stop," Clint jumped up, blocking the doorway just before she could reach it. Lena huffed, looking away from where he stood barely even a foot in front of her. "I need you to let me explain."

Lena took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a brief second before finally looking up at Clint. She had to crane her neck slightly to meet his eyes and she was surprised when she saw that he was really _looking_ at her for the first time in weeks. Not as a trainee, but just as _her_.

"So explain," she whispered.

Clint took a deep breath, willing himself to not think about how sexy her voice was when it got all husky and serious like that.

"What started between us in New Mexico, I can't… I don't understand it," Clint finally spoke. "I barely knew you, but I couldn't get you off my mind. It drove me nuts. And then when we got back here to HQ and we had our… moment, or whatever you want to call it, in the gym, I shouldn't have said what I did." Lena's face fell. "No, no, not because I didn't mean it," he corrected himself, "But because… I should've been realistic."

"Realistic about what?"

"You," he said instantly. "Me. Me and you and how… it just can't happen. That's why I backed away, to make it… easier for myself. I thought if I just treated you like I would any SHIELD recruit then I might actually learn to see you as one."

"That's…" Lena began to say, "Wait, what?" She spluttered incredulously. "Why can't it happen? Because we work for SHIELD? I thought they didn't care about that as long as we could draw the line on missions."

"Not that, no," Clint clarified. "It can't happen because…" he trailed off, his Adam's apple bobbing as he gulped, not knowing how to say it.

"Well?" Lena asked.

"Because… well because you're you!" He finally shouted, making Lena's eyebrows shoot up.

"I'm… me?"

"Yeah, you're..." Clint's voice dropped again and he looked at her confused expression with his mouth parted. "You're you," he stated again simply. "You're beautiful, and you fight like hell, and you're _good_. You just have this whole air about you that screams good person. I mean Christ, you risked your life to save that little girl in New Mexico, you gave up the chance to go to Asgard to work for SHIELD and look after Jane Foster, you make it your mission to be nice to Maria Hill, and you punched Brock Rumlow for making fun of Fitzsimmons! I mean who the hell does all of that?" He shouted incredulously. "You're too… you're just too _good_, Lena."

Lena's eyes squinted and her mouth parted as she stared up at Clint's wide green eyes and vulnerable expression.

"So, let me get this straight," she finally said, "You don't like me, because I'm… too good of a person?" She asked in confusion.

"No, no!" Clint said quickly. "It's not that I don't like you I just… I'm not… Ah dammit, I don't know how to say it!"

"Just spit it out, Clint! If you're worried about hurting my feelings we're a bit beyond that point so just say it for crying out loud!"

"I'm not good enough for you!"

Lena froze. Clint was breathing heavily, his eyes boring into her own. The small space between them seemed to grow thicker with tension as each silent second passed.

"I'm not good enough for you, Lena," Clint whispered. "You deserve someone that's as good as you are. You deserve someone that knows your world. You should be with some well-to-do Asgardian, or someone else as equally fan-freaking-tastic," he said bitterly. "I'm nobody. I'm just a SHIELD agent. No family, no fancy title to my name, nothing. You don't even know the first thing about my past because if you did, you wouldn't… you wouldn't see me the same way."

Lena stared up at him with her big eyes and Clint felt like she could see right into his very soul. A heavy sadness descended upon the pair, and Clint felt for sure that she was going to either slap him or walk out – or maybe both.

But she did neither of those things. Instead, she took a deep breath and licked her lips, gathering the courage to say her next words.

"Four months ago," she said in a shaky voice, "I was training at Jem's Gym back in Florida. You read about him in my file I'm sure. Well he was…" she trailed off, looking down and away from Clint as she smiled at the thought of her old friend, "He was a great man, he really was. And when we first met, he told me that he saw something in me. A goodness that I couldn't even see. And I believed him for two years. But four months ago, on my 22nd birthday and the anniversary of the day my uncle died," she said sadly, "I held Jem in my arms while he passed away. And one of the last things he said to me…" her voice cracked again as she had to pause as she forced herself to look up at Clint. "One of the last things he said to me was that I was good. Good in here." She placed her hand over her heart. "But then you know what I did?" She let out a sad laugh as a tear slipped down her cheek. "After the ambulance came and took him to the morgue, I got drunk and walked out to the beach. I had a screaming match with God, and then I waded out into the ocean."

"Lena," Clint said softly, a dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach that he knew where this story was going.

"I waded out into the ocean," she repeated, ignoring him, "And I swam way out. And then I let myself slip under the waves, hoping that I'd never have to face this shitty world ever again." She paused, her shaky breaths filling up the sounds of the otherwise empty conference room. "And then out of nowhere, I was whisked up to Asgard. Heimdall had been given orders to save me if my life were ever in serious danger. That's how I found out that my father was Odin."

"Lena I didn't know," Clint said softly.

"Of course you didn't know, I've never told anyone that," Lena muttered, looking down at her feet as she wiped the tears away from her eyes. "But that should show you that I'm not as good as you seem to think I am," she said in a trembling voice. "I'm not this perfect, holier-than-thou girl who is trying to find Mr. Perfect. And for you to think that you have the right to tell me what I _deserve_?" She spat angrily. "That's low, Clint. I decide what I deserve, not you and not anybody else for that matter."

"I never meant to–"

"I don't give a damn what you _meant_ to do, it's what you did!" Lena cut him off. "Maybe you think you're being noble, or giving me my best chance at happiness or whatever, but did you ever stop and think that maybe I just wanted to try and be happy with you? Why couldn't _that_ be what I deserve?"

Clint was frozen. He stood there speechless, mouth open with no words to say. He had never felt like such a lowlife.

"I'm sorry," he finally said. "I'm sorry, Lena."

"Yeah," she nodded. "Me too." They stared at one another for a few more seconds, neither knowing what to say or how to proceed from there. "I'll see you in the morning, Barton," Lena finally said softly, reaching past him and pushing the door open.

Once she was gone, Clint sat down at the empty conference room table and wondered how and if he could fix what he had so horribly messed up.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**A/N: Enjoy and review! xo **

The next morning, Clint was waiting by the tarmac outside of HQ for Lena to arrive. They would be taking a Quinjet to a SHIELD airbase located just outside of Dubai where they would then be driven there under their full cover as Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence.

The sun wasn't up yet, and Clint looked out over the rest of DC as the few early workers started their morning commute. He had his hands in the pockets of his jacket, not really enjoying the brisk September morning weather. And on top of that, he was exhausted after a long night of tossing and turning and thinking about blue-green eyes and tears falling down tinted red cheeks. He wondered if she had slept well or had been restless like him.

A few minutes later, the sound of a motorcycle pulling up made Clint look up from where he was leaned against the wall of the building behind him. He squinted his eyes to see someone driving towards him, pulling up just a few feet away from him wearing black pants and a thick black jacket, a silver helmet on their head with the face mask down. As they shut off the engine and dismounted the bike, Clint let out a breath when they took off their helmet.

"You've gotta be kidding me," he muttered under his breath as Lena shook out her hair before placing the helmet on the back of the bike. "No one's allowed to be that hot," he said under his breath.

"What?" Lena asked as she stuffed her hands in her pockets and walked over to him.

"Nothing, nothing," he shook his head. "Nice bike. When'd you get it?"

Lena looked back at the motorcycle and grinned. "A couple weeks ago, right after I moved into my apartment. I'm not really a subway or a taxi kind of girl."

"Wait you got an apartment?" Clint asked incredulously. "When? Why didn't I know about this?"

"Well," Lena shrugged, the smile dropping from her face. "Maybe if you'd actually asked what was going on in my life for the past month you would've known."

Clint looked down at his feet with a shameful expression and Lena immediately felt bad even though she was completely justified in what she had said.

"It's like ten minutes away from HQ," she said in a much more conversational tone. Clint looked up at her with curious eyes. "Nice area, near some good restaurants. I'm not allowed to have pets though, which is annoying," she said with a shrug.

Clint chuckled. "Never took you for a cat person."

"Oh no, I'm not. I love dogs," Lena said quickly. "Big dogs, like a golden retriever or a German Shepard or something."

Clint grinned, looking up at her. "Nice to know," he said kindly. "Look, about yesterday–"

"It's behind us, okay?" Lena interrupted him. "We fought, we got it out of our system, it's done with. Now we can just focus on the mission and being friends."

"Friends?" Clint asked.

"Well, I mean, yeah. Or we can just be partners if you want. I was just thinking that since we–"

"Lena that's not what I meant," Clint chuckled, taking a step towards her. His heart felt a shot of pain when she took a very small, almost unnoticeable step back away from him. "I meant that…" he trailed off, forcing a fake smile on his face. "I meant that friends sounds great."

Lena smiled, but unlike Clint, hers was much more convincing. So convincing he actually believed it was real.

"Sounds good," she lied through her teeth with that perfectly trained pearly white fake smile.

**xXxXx**

Ten minutes later, the Quinjet had taken off, and Lena and Clint were sitting on opposite sides of the cargo hold reading through the files on their respective covers. Well, they were pretending to read them while actually glancing over at one another in turns.

Lena's heart was pounding though she was doing a fantastic job of hiding it. She and Clint could hardly even look at one another without it being awkward, and in 16 hours they would be pretending to be a _married_ couple. Not to mention that her future with SHIELD depended on this mission. But even more important than that – the lives of hundreds of innocent people being trafficked all around the world depended on her.

As that very sobering thought crossed Lena's mind, she realized that this mission was so much bigger than her strange relationship with Clint Barton. They needed to get it together.

"When do we land?" She asked suddenly, making Clint raise his eyebrows as he looked over the top of his file at her.

"Ten hours," he answered. "Then it'll be a half an hour drive to the Burj Al Arab, we'll check into our room, then another two hours before we meet with Ahmad."

"Perfect," Lena snapped her file shut and unbuckled herself, striding over to Clint and plopping down in the seat next to him. "That gives us roughly twelve hours to get this cover prepared."

"What?" Clint asked inquisitively, his skin seeming to burn the closer she got to him. She had taken off her jacket and weapons belt when they'd gotten on the plane, and her tight black tank top was extremely distracting.

"Clint, we're going undercover as a married couple," Lena deadpanned. "Don't you think we should like, come up with some good stories to tell if people ask us? How'd you propose? Where was our first date? Does your mom like me? That kind of stuff."

"Oh, right," Clint nodded. "Yeah sure."

"So from what I can tell, Felicity Lawrence is the epitome of spoiled brat," Lena muttered, making Clint laugh at her bitterness. "Seriously, the girl came from lots of rich money and did nothing but blow it her entire life. She was a dancer, she–"

"You can dance, can't you?" Clint suddenly asked. "I remember you saying to Coulson and me that you were captain of the dance team when you were a teenager."

Lena narrowed her eyes. "How do you remember that?" She asked.

Clint shrugged nonchalantly. "I remember everything you say," he remarked offhandedly as if it wasn't a big deal. "So Felicity is the spoiled brat," he looked down at his own folder, completely oblivious to how touched Lena was, "And her husband Ross is a grade A douchebag. Embezzlement, identity theft, you name it. He's the one in charge of coordinating all their business transactions, and she's the one that makes the kidnapping sound appealing to other rich couples around the world."

Lena cleared her throat, sitting up straighter as she pulled her legs up to sit crisscross in her seat. She rapidly blinked away the tears stinging the back of her eyes, hoping Clint didn't notice.

"Guess those drama classes I took in high school will come in handy for this then," Lena muttered.

Clint grinned. "Drama classes?"

"Oh yeah. I was the lead in The Wizard of Oz my senior year I'll have you know," she said haughtily, making Clint laugh. "But seriously, I don't know if I'll be able to pass for a convincing evil bitch," she muttered. "I cringe just thinking about the horrible things this woman has done."

"Yeah but you have to keep it in perspective," Clint explained. "Focus on everyone that you're going to help by pretending to be an evil bitch for a day or two. And besides, I'll be with you the whole time." Lena nodded and shot him a grateful smile that made his heart speed up yet again. "So I was thinking, if anyone asks why you don't have the British accent even though Felicity was raised in London, we can just say that you've been living in America for a few years and–"

"Why wouldn't I be doing the British accent?" Lena asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Uh… _can_ you do a British accent?"

"Of course I can," she replied in a surprisingly flawless British accent. "What kind of prospective SHIELD agent do you take me for?"

"I…" Clint stuttered with wide eyes, surprisingly and immediately turned on. "That was… wow that was really good."

Lena grinned. "Thanks," she said, her voice back to normal. "I kind of picked up on the Asgardian accent there for a while, and I listen to Jemma ramble all the time, so…" she trailed off, shrugging her shoulders.

"Yeah that was… really hot," Clint mumbled under his breath, the last two words almost inaudible as he turned to look back at his file. Lena heard him loud and clear though and her cheeks turned bright red.

"So," Clint said in a louder voice a few seconds later, turning to Lena with a smile that she could tell was purely genuine and it made her heart soar. Maybe he had really heard what she had said the day before. "You're going to tell them I'm really good in bed, right?"

**xXxXx**

Nine hours later, Clint and Lena were both sitting in the cargo hold on the floor instead of their seats; Lena was sprawled out on her back holding a different file up above her face while Clint was leaned up against one of the seats with an arm slung over his knee.

For the first three or four hours they had gone over a bunch of stories concerning their covers. So far, Clint (Ross) had proposed on a beach in Fiji at sunset, Lena (Felicity) had come riding in on a white horse at their "small" wedding with just 500 guests, they spent their summers at a beautiful penthouse in Paris that looked straight at the Eiffel Tower, and blah, blah, blah, more snotty rich people happenings like that.

After that they had both taken a nice little three hour nap since they were each exhausted and wouldn't get much sleep on this mission. Once they woke up, they'd had to get up and move for a few minutes and now they were sitting on the floor of the cargo hold just chatting – which both of them were more than fine with. Thanks to Clint, they hadn't even simply talked to one another about anything other than training for the past month. There was still so much that they didn't know about each other.

"So let me get this straight," Clint was saying, "The frost giants are like 20 feet tall–"

"Yes."

"Can freeze your skin off just by touching you–"

"Correct."

"And can turn their arms into ice spears?" He asked incredulously.

Lena laughed. "Yes, I'm telling you, they're scary as hell! Tall and blue and cold to the very core."

"And you and Thor and your friends fought off how many?"

"Hundreds," Lena rolled her head to the side to look at him. "Fortunately for us, they might be big, but they're pretty stupid most of the time. One hard hit with my staff and they were down for the count."

"You know your staff still confuses me," Clint cocked his head to the side. "The whole flying through the air into your hand thing, I don't get it."

Lena laughed. "Me neither," she said honestly. "There was this old prophecy about the staff and who could use it, and it turns out I fit the bill." She shrugged.

"Prophecy?" Clint asked incredulously. "Seriously?" Lena nodded. "Well what did it say?"

"Oh gosh, let's see if I can remember," Lena looked up at the ceiling of the Quinjet and closed her eyes tight, biting her lip in thought. "'And it shall be so, that only the warrior with the purest heart come back to the Realm shall wield the marvelous Gríðarvölr.'" She opened her eyes back up and rolled her head over to look at Clint with a grin, waggling her eyebrows.

Clint laughed, shaking his head. "See, even the staff knows that you're the best person ever," he mumbled under his breath. Lena's smile dropped from her face and she turned her head away again.

Her mind drifted to their argument the day before. While she had spent so much time and energy being angry and frustrated with him for thinking he knew what she deserved and would want in life – namely him – she hadn't put much thought into just why he was so convinced he couldn't be that for her.

"Hey Clint," she turned back to him.

"Hm?"

Lena sat up, drawing her knees to her chest as she faced him. She bit her lip for a second trying to think of how to phrase her question.

"Yesterday," she finally said, "At one point you said that… that if I knew about your past, then I wouldn't see you the same way that I do now." Clint was a few feet away from her, but Lena could tell exactly when his body went rigid and he started to close himself off to her. "What did you mean by that?"

Clint was silent, staring down at his feet for a few seconds. Finally though he shook his head and let out a forced chuckle.

"What happened to us not talking about yesterday?" He deflected.

"If you don't want to tell me that's fine, I just…" Lena paused. "I just want you to know that whatever you're thinking isn't true. No matter what you've done or who you were, it's not going to change my perspective of you." Clint was silent, refusing to meet her eyes. "Do you think differently about me since what I told you about trying to kill myself?"

"No," Clint said immediately, his head snapping up to look at her, "Of course not."

"Then what makes you think I'm going to do that to you?" Lena shot back.

Clint sighed, shaking his head and running his hand through his messy blonde hair. He didn't say anything for a while and Lena wondered if maybe she had overstepped her bounds.

"You know it took me a while to forgive myself for what I did," Lena finally spoke again. Clint looked up at her thoughtfully. "But once I did, it was really freeing. I learned how to open myself up to people. I stopped being afraid that if I asked for help, I would be taken advantage of. I stopped thinking that I had to do everything by myself in order to be strong." She paused for a moment. "Letting someone that you trust take on the weight of your burdens isn't selfish, or a sign of weakness. It's a sign of strength."

Clint stared at Lena for several tense seconds, neither of them able to look away. The tension crackled between the space separating them like electricity, and it was something they had never felt before.

"Lena Sullivan," Clint finally said, "I think that you're going to be the ruin of me."

Lena grinned. "Yeah well," she shrugged, "The feeling's mutual, Hawkeye."

**xXxXx**

Twenty minutes later the Quinjet landed and Clint and Lena grabbed their gear before heading off of the plane. It was 4 in the morning in Dubai, so the sun wasn't out, but that didn't mean it wasn't still hot outside.

"Woah," Lena whispered as she looked out over the tarmac and towards the extraordinary Dubai skyline.

Clint came up beside her and grinned at her dumbfounded expression. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Lena breathed out. "I've never really travelled anywhere before so this is… surreal. Well, correction," she added, "I've never travelled very far on Earth before."

"I think that interdimensional travel still means that you win at the travel game," Clint teased. Lena rolled her eyes and followed him over to where another agent was pulling up the car that they were going to take to the Burj Al Arab.

Lena's jaw dropped with an audible pop when she saw the vehicle.

"Holy…crap…" she murmured in disbelief.

"Right?" Clint raised his eyebrows at her as he took the keys from the other agent. "It's an–"

"Audi R8 GT," Lena finished for him, walking around the car and staring at it adoringly. "My uncle knew cars," she explained, never taking her eyes off of the vehicle. "Quattro permanent all-wheel drive, V10, seven-speed, 542 horsepower. You know Tony Stark has this same car?" She asked excitedly, peering back over at Clint. "And oh my _gosh_ it has leather interior!" She squealed, poking her head inside the open window.

Clint stared at her in disbelief as she popped her head back up to look at him with a grin. "What?" She asked when she saw his expression.

"You know cars too?" He asked incredulously. "Is there anything about you that isn't completely awesome? You drive motorcycles, you're a dog person, you've fought giant monsters, _and_ you know cars?"

Lena smirked and shrugged one shoulder nonchalantly. "Yeah well, you've missed out on a month of getting to know this awesomeness, so you're in for a treat." She walked over to him then, holding out her hand. He looked down at it in confusion.

"What?" He asked.

"Keys," she said bluntly. "Hand 'em over."

Clint laughed. "No, no way. I'm the senior agent, which means that I drive."

Lena huffed, biting her lip. "Fine. We rock, paper, scissors for it."

"Are you serious?"

"Completely. Come on, best two out of three." She held out her hands ready to play the game and Clint rolled his eyes.

"Fine, we'll play rock, paper, scissors," he muttered, extending his own hands. "But just so you know, I'm – hey!"

Lena snatched the keys away from his hand the second Clint was sufficiently distracted, laughing as she turned on her heel and held them up in the air victoriously.

"Come on, Bird Boy, get in."

Clint chuckled, both loving and loathing the light and happy feeling in his chest that she was giving him. The loathing was because from his past experiences, feelings like that never lasted long and only left him off worse than he was before when it was over. The only difference though was that those feelings had never been over an extraordinary girl like Lena Sullivan.

"Yes ma'am," he said with a grin, jogging around to the passenger side and getting in the car. He had barely closed the door before Lena floored it and peeled away from the tarmac.

They made it to the Burj Al Arab in fifteen minutes instead of thirty thanks to Lena's insane driving skills. Clint wanted to keep an eye on the road to make sure they weren't going to die throughout the drive, but he simply hadn't been able to tear his eyes away from Lena the majority of the time. She was grinning and laughing the entire time, her eyes lighting up under the streetlights and skyscrapers with complete and utter fascination. She had never looked so beautiful to him.

They finally pulled up to the beautiful and massive hotel, stepping out from the sleek black vehicle as the moonlight shined down over them. Lena reluctantly handed the keys over to the valet, making Clint laugh.

Since it was 4 in the morning, they were able to walk inside in the clothes they were already wearing since they wasn't marked with anything reminiscent of SHIELD. Lena pretended to be indifferent to the inside of the hotel even though she was actually freaking out at how insanely beautiful everything was. They were in the nicest hotel in the entire world after all.

"Come on," Clint suddenly appeared at Lena's side, making her jump. They walked over to the elevators, their arms brushing against each other with each step, but no other physical contact aside from that. Lena bit down on her lip wondering how the hell she was supposed to be all lovey-dovey with Clint in just a few hours when her knees felt like jelly just walking next to him.

They reached the elevator, the two of them stepping in and the doors closing shut as Clint pressed the button for the 53rd floor. Lena bounced on her toes as the elevator seemed to move as slow as it possibly could. She guessed that all of those stories of unabated sexual tension being its highest inside elevators were actually true because it was certainly unrelenting between them.

Clint could feel it too, and his eyes glanced down at Lena fidgeting beside him and biting her lip. He forced himself to look away and think about something – anything – other than how badly he himself wanted to do that to her.

"So SHIELD sent our stuff over yesterday," he finally said, wincing as his voice cracked in the otherwise silent elevator. "I mean we brought our weapons," he gestured to the bags he was holding, "But they sent over clothes and everything else we need. Apparently Natasha was the one that picked out your dress for the event tonight."

Lena groaned, rolling her eyes. "Oh gosh, I didn't even think about that. It's probably something absolutely ridiculous. Felicity Lawrence is a fashion nutcase," she muttered irritatedly.

Clint chuckled. "Didn't you have to wear dresses on Asgard? With you being the pr–"

"Don't say it," Lena cut him off, pointing a stern index finger at him. "But yes, I did have to wear dresses a lot. And I don't mind it, I actually like getting dressed up every now and then." Clint raised his eyebrows. "The nice outfits, the fancy hair and makeup, the whole nine yards. It's pretty fun, just not when I'm in a room full of scumbags who are probably going to be objectifying me the entire time."

Clint nodded in understanding. He hadn't thought about that before, but was sure thinking about it now. Just the thought of some asshole looking at her like an object to be used instead of a person with thoughts, feelings, and the purest heart he had ever known simply infuriated him.

"But hey, what about you?" Lena asked, breaking Clint out of his reverie. "Excited about wearing a tux?"

"Oh yeah," Clint nodded. "I better go ahead and warn you though that it might be too much for you to handle." He looked down at her and winked, sending Lena's heart racing even faster.

"I think I'll be alright," she teased back, looking up at him with a small smile.

That moment seemed to drag on forever, the two of them staring at one another without the fear of anybody else watching. The space between them seemed to crackle with unresolved tension, and Lena could have sworn that they seemed to be getting closer when suddenly the elevator dinged.

They both looked away from one another as the doors opened, Clint stepping back and gesturing for her to go ahead of him. She smiled at the gentlemanly act of kindness.

With only two suites on the 53rd floor, Clint directed them to the left and over to an ornately decorated door. When he slid the key in and opened the door, both of them simply stood there for a moment completely shocked.

The room was insane. It was huge, easily three times the size of Lena's one-bedroom apartment. There was a full kitchen, a bar, the biggest bed that Lena had ever seen, a balcony with a ridiculous view, a walk-in closet, and a hot tub.

"Woah," Lena whispered, "So this is how the 1% lives."

"Apparently so," Clint muttered, allowing her to step in before him. He watched as she looked around the room with an awed expression, completely stunned.

In all fairness, Lena had seen and even lived in a very similar room back on Asgard, but it didn't have all the extra amenities. There were certainly no hot tubs in Asgard – at least not any that she was aware of.

"Right," she said suddenly, snapping back into SHIELD mode, remembering that this mission was determining if she was going to be an agent or not. She thought back to what she had been trained to do next, noticing Clint watching her and waiting to see what she would do and say. She looked over to him with a brightly put on smile. "Honey," she said sweetly in her put on British accent, "Would you hand me that bag please?" She pointed to the one in his left hand. Clint rolled his eyes and fought back a laugh, handing it over. "Thank you sweet cheeks," she added just for extra effect, throwing a dramatic wink in his direction.

"Ridiculous," Clint muttered under his breath, but the fond smile on his face was undeniable.

Lena opened the bag up, pulling out the bug scanner that Fitz had taught her how to use. She walked around the room, running it over every inch of furniture to check for audio devices that could be listening in on them, the whole time pretending to ramble on and on about how nice the room was and how she missed their Paris penthouse. Clint walked over to the bed and flopped backwards onto it, putting his hands behind his head and grunting out a response every few seconds, trying to ignore the fact that her British accent was doing certain things to certain parts of his anatomy.

"We're good," Lena finally said in her normal voice, tossing the scanner back in the bag and running her hands down her face.

"I could've told you that," Clint said.

"What?" She asked incredulously. "How?"

Clint leaned his head up to see her with her hands on her hips standing over by the bar. He grinned. "SHIELD was here this morning and nobody else has been in this room since then."

"So I just did all of that for no reason?" She asked incredulously.

"Hey, it's good training," Clint pointed out. "And besides," he laid his head back down on the bed, "I like your British accent," he said honestly with a shrug.

Lena scoffed. "You're infuriating," she mumbled under her breath, though her cheeks flushed where he couldn't see.

Clint just laughed as she walked over to the walk-in closet, rummaging through the clothes that had already been placed there. Her jaw dropped when she saw the dress that was obviously meant for the fancy ball event they were to attend in just over twelve hours.

"Holy shit," she said in disbelief.

"What is it?" Clint called out as he got off of the bed. "Oh, is it your dress? Let me see."

"No way!" Lena jumped in his path, not letting him go any further into the closet. "You'll only tease me about it."

"Tease you about it?" Clint asked indignantly. "Why would I tease you about it?"

"Just trust me, you will," Lena muttered. "Now move out of my way," she shooed him and he rolled his eyes, but complied. He walked back over to the bed as she headed towards their bags, sitting down on the couch.

"So we meet Ahmad for breakfast in three hours as Felicity and Lawrence." She began removing all of the weapons – her staff and Clint's bow – to check over them. "The plan is to get on his good side, be his little scumbag friends," she muttered as she extended her staff to its longest and then shortened it just to be on the safe side, "Then at the ball is when we find out where the people and the weapons are, you'll relay that info back to SHIELD while I get Ahmad alone and take him out. Did I get everything right?"

Clint didn't reply.

"Clint?"

Lena looked up from the weapons to see Clint passed out on the bed. She sighed, smiling at the sight. He looked oddly vulnerable, and a part of her was touched that he felt safe enough to fall asleep while she was in the room and a bunch of criminals were in the building. She wondered if he had even slept on the plane ride over or if he had just pretended to, guessing the latter since he looked exhausted.

She decided to let him sleep for now, since they had a couple of hours, figuring she would run over the mission details herself and get ready to meet Ahmad before waking him up.

Lena walked over and grabbed a blanket that was probably worth more than her motorcycle, gently laying it over Clint. She sighed as she looked down at his sleeping face, wishing that he looked that relaxed when he was around her.

"Oh Clint Barton," she said wistfully, "You are _definitely_ going to ruin me."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**A/N: So this chapter is shorter than usual (still almost 4k) but I wanted to update while I had the time and also as a thank you for the reviews! You guys are rad. Hope you enjoy! Review and tell me what you think will happen next!**

"_Hey, you stop that," Lena smacked Clint's hand as he reached around her to poke his finger into the tomato sauce she was currently making. "Dinner will be ready in like, two minutes, can't you wait?"_

"_Nope, sure can't," Clint grinned, wrapping his arms around Lena's waist and nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck. She felt him smirk against her skin as she sighed. _

"_Did you finish making the salad?" Lena asked, and Clint nodded._

_His fingers intertwined with her own as he propped his chin on her shoulder and raised her left hand up, his thumb rubbing over the diamond ring he had put on her finger as he said, "I do" just one year ago. _

"_Well Mrs. Barton," he whispered into her ear, "After our fancy anniversary dinner with the best salad in the whole world–"_

_Lena snorted. "Debatable."_

"–_Do you have any other big plans in mind?"_

_With a smirk on her face, Lena spun around in Clint's arms, raising her hands up to circle around his neck. There was no space between their chests, and Clint was amazed that even after all this time together, their hearts still raced when they were so close with one another. _

"_Well I did wanna do this one thing," Lena whispered, her fingers running through Clint's hair._

"_Oh really?" Clint waggled his eyebrows._

"_Yeah," she whispered. "It's in the bedroom, and best case scenario it might last for a few hours."_

"_Best case scenario, huh?" Clint chuckled._

"_Yeah, but you never know," Lena shrugged teasingly, laughing when Clint rolled his eyes. _

_He leaned his mouth down to hers, their lips touching gently at first. Lena would never grow tired of kissing Clint Barton. Every time they kissed it felt like her whole world was slowly then suddenly imploding on itself while she spun out of control – and he was the only one that could bring her back down to earth. _

_It didn't take long for them to get caught up in each other, Clint's calloused fingers gripping her hips tightly as he lifted her up and set her on their kitchen counter. He groaned when she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him impossibly closer. Their tongues tangled and they grinned against each other's mouths when their teeth clacked against one another. _

_Clint's mouth left Lena's a few seconds later as his lips pressed hard, wet kisses across her jawline and down her neck, one hand tangled in her hair and the other resting low on her hip. Lena leaned her head back so he could have more access, sighing in the delicious feel that she would never grow tired of. He was probably leaving marks on her neck at that point, but she didn't care and neither did he – she could always wear a scarf. _

_Her eyes fluttered open as Clint's tongue flicked out on a particularly sensitive part of her neck, making her gasp in pleasure. But when she opened her eyes she saw something across the kitchen that made her start to laugh. _

"_Lena," Clint murmured against her neck as she continued to laugh, "It's kind of damaging to my ego when you laugh while I'm kissing you."_

"_I'm sorry, it's just," Lena said as he pulled back to look at her face, "We sort of have company." _

_Clint's face drew together in confusion. "What?" He turned and looked as Lena pointed to something behind him. "Oh. Right. Forgot about him."_

_The little golden retriever puppy let out a high pitched bark as he noticed his owners finally paying attention to him. Clint sighed as he drew away from Lena and walked over to the puppy as it began to spin around in circles, its collar jingling. _

"_Alright buddy, chill out," Clint mumbled as the dog wiggled in his arms as it licked his face. _

"_Hey, I'm the only one that gets to lick him," Lena pointed at the dog with her index finger. _

_Clint laughed, leaning over and catching her mouth with his own in a sweet kiss. "That's right, baby." _

_Lena pulled back with a smile, one hand on Clint's cheek and the other petting their puppy. _

"_Clint," she said. _

"_Yeah?"_

"_Clint. Clint wake up."_

Clint gasped awake, sitting up quickly and blinking rapidly to determine where he was. Lena was standing beside the bed next to him with a worried expression on her face.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked in a concerned tone.

"What?" Clint asked in a daze. "Oh… yeah, yeah. I'm fine. How long was I out?" He pushed himself up and off the bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept that hard, even if it was only for a few hours.

And that _dream_. _What the hell was that all about?_ He asked himself. He had been married to Lena living the white-picket fence life where he got to kiss her whenever he wanted and they had a _dog_? That had never happened before.

"You slept for about three hours," Lena replied as she walked over to the kitchen area and picked up a pot of coffee. "We have to meet Ahmad in half an hour so I figured I would go ahead and wake you up."

"Yeah, thanks," Clint mumbled, his eyes watching her every movement. He couldn't get the images of her in his dream out of his head.

"Coffee?" She extended a cup in his direction, one eyebrow raised as though she were still concerned for him. With good reason.

"Yes, please," he said gratefully, walking over to her as he stretched out his muscles and accepted the cup. He looked her up and down for the first time since he woke up and smirked as he raised the cup to his lips. "Nice outfit, Mrs. Lawrence."

"Oh shutup," Lena scowled, looking down at herself.

She was wearing what she referred to as a 'rich bitch getup.' She had on beige pants that were so tight they might as well have been leggings, a loose white blouse with an entirely open back, and multiple gold necklaces around her neck and bracelets on her wrist. Her feet were already aching from the white high heels she was wearing, and her hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail.

"No really, you look nice," Clint said honestly.

And she did look absolutely stunning, which was not boding well for him considering he was already more physically attracted to her more than he had been with any other woman he had ever met – even more so now after that dream.

"Well… thanks," Lena mumbled under her breath, looking away from Clint as her cheeks tinted red. "So I checked over all the weapons and ran over all the intel on Ahmad about a hundred times already," she launched into agent mode. "This ball tonight is going to be when all of the heads of the various trafficking rings make their deals while their wives talk about how lovely the champagne is," she scowled.

"How much security will Ahmad have on him?" Clint asked in an equally serious tone, walking over to look over her shoulder at the file she had in her hand.

"At least two guys at all times, but probably less tonight at the ball." She flipped the page over to the information on the Lawrences. "And he'll be expecting Felicity and Ross to be there today. Ahmad has apparently been trying to do business with them for a while, so he'll be pretty eager to meet us. Make sure you haggle with him, Ross is known for being a cheap bastard."

"Got it."

"Oh and," Lena closed the folder and looked back at Clint, biting her lip anxiously, "I know this is… awkward or whatever, but Natasha said that the Lawrences were very into… PDA."

"Oh. _Oh_," Clint replied, his eyes widening. "Right, no problem."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine," he shrugged nonchalantly even though his heart was racing. "We've got to act the part. If Ahmad even thinks for a second that we aren't who we say we are he'll call his guys to move the shipments ahead of schedule without thinking twice about it."

"Exactly," Lena agreed. "And besides, we're professionals."

"Of course we are."

"It's not like we've never had public displays of affection with people before."

"Right, not a big deal."

"So just make sure to hold my hand and grab my ass every now and then and we'll be fine."

"Exactly, I'll just… wait what?"

But Lena had already walked over to the other side of the room leaving Clint in the kitchen as he stared after her.

"Put these on," she tossed a pair of pants and a shirt at him, ignoring his flabbergasted look. "Unfortunately Ahmad's security will probably pat us down before we actually get to him, so don't take any weapons. If we can get past them no problem this morning, they won't check us tonight."

"Right, yeah," Clint murmured, taking the clothes and heading to one of the adjoining rooms just around the corner opposite from where Lena was leaned forward towards a mirror adjusting her makeup.

As she looked in the mirror though she realized that she could see Clint in the reflection, his back turned to her as he took off his shirt to change. She gulped, her hand halfway up to her face with a tube of mascara. She'd seen him in his tight Underarmour shirts all the time at the gym, but _damn_ she never imagined his back muscles be so toned. Years of archery had him completely ripped all through his biceps and shoulders, all lines and veins and a few scars. He turned to the side as he began to button up his white shirt and Lena's mouth went dry when she saw his broad chest and abdominal muscles.

"That's just not fair," she whispered to herself.

Blinking away the haze of arousal at his naked torso, Lena forced herself to get back to the task at hand, looking away as he changed into his khaki pants (apparently the Lawrences tended to match outfits – gag).

As Lena looked away though, Clint glanced out of the corner of his eyes at where she stood leaned over the small counter towards the mirror applying her makeup. Her white blouse had an open back and he gulped as he trailed his eyes down the bare skin of her back, down to her tight pants accentuating each and every one of her curves, and finally to the high heels that made her legs seem to go on forever.

Clint had seen Lena in all sorts of situations – tired and exhausted after being knocked out by a sedative, bloody and bruised after fighting the Destroyer, sweaty and determined at the gym during training, and professional and put together at various briefings and other classroom-type training sessions. And she had been absolutely beautiful in each of those situations, but this was the first time he had seen her look so… sophisticated, maybe? He couldn't think of the right word. Nonetheless, she was a knockout – the kind of girl that everyone turned their heads to look at when she entered the room.

"Well don't we just look like a couple of douchebags?" Lena asked when she and Clint were both ready to go. Clint laughed, shaking his head.

"Yeah I'd say douchebag is about right," he muttered, glancing at himself in the mirror and grimacing. He much preferred t-shirts and flannels over khakis and button ups. "You ready?" He asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Lena muttered as she led the way out of the room.

They boarded the elevator to head down to the third floor, but the sexual tension that had been between them the night before was gone and replaced by Lena's terrible nerves. She was biting her lip compulsively, almost hard enough to draw blood, and bouncing on her toes nervously.

"Hey," Clint touched her wrist lightly, making her jump. "Everything's going to be fine," he said firmly. "Our cover is solid. We just have to do our jobs and do them well. Don't overthink it."

"Right, don't overthink," Lena repeated, nodding her head. "I just… I can't screw this up."

"You won't. And besides, even if something goes wrong you're pretty much a guaranteed SHIELD agent at this point."

"I don't care about that," Lena waved him off. He looked down at her in surprise. "I mean, I want to be an agent of course, but I won't be able to live with myself if we don't find those people Ahmad is using as commodities."

Clint smiled fondly down at her. "And it's that attitude that means you're going to do just fine on this mission."

The elevator dinged right after that statement left Clint's mouth, and Lena's head swiveled forward. She took a deep breath. "Here we go," she whispered to herself.

The elevator doors opened, and the smile that Lena plastered on her face was bright enough to light up an entire building. She and Clint reached for each other's hands at the same time, both of them forcing themselves to ignore the spark that ran between them at the contact as their fingers intertwined.

Lena began to laugh as if Clint had said something outrageously funny as the faux couple exited the elevator and entered the lavish breakfast dining room filled with about thirty other people. Lena did a once over of the room so quickly nobody could have noticed, noting that everyone looked just as rich and obnoxious as she and Clint were pretending to be. Women in decked out fancy outfits with their faces coated in makeup piddled with their expensive jewelry while delicately holding sangrias, and men wearing slacks and casual business wear with too much gel in their hair conversed loudly over Cuban cigars and foreign vehicles. Lena could almost feel the arrogance in the room, so overwhelming it threatened to suffocate her.

There was a wide variety of ethnicities in the room, people from all over the world come to the Burj Al Arab to do business both legal and illegal. Lena's gaze drifted over to the opposite side of the room where a man of obvious Asian descent was chatting with a Middle Eastern man while two other men in suits stood on either side of them.

Lena and Clint both turned and walked over to the bar on the left side of the room with their fake smiles still plastered on, leaning against the countertop as Clint ordered two mimosas. He wrapped his arm around Lena's waist, her body shivering as his calloused fingers skimmed over the exposed skin of her back.

"Tell me what you see," Clint said as he leaned in towards her. To any onlooker they just looked like a couple waiting on their breakfast drinks and chatting lovingly.

"He's at our four o'clock, two guards flanking each side," Lena said under her breath, propping her chin in her hands as she looked up at him through her eyelashes.

"What do the guards have on them?"

"A glock apiece."

"Good," Clint said with a smile. He stood up to his full height as the bartender came over and gave him their drinks. He handed one off to Lena. "Now let's go do business."

They turned and began walking towards Ahmad as the other man he had been speaking to left with a curt nod. Lena could feel everyone's eyes on them as they walked straight through the middle of the room. She kept her head held high and a haughty expression on her face, and Clint looked smug as he held Lena close to his side.

"Hold it," one of the guards said just before they approached Ahmad, who had his back to them. The guard stuck his arm out and placed a hand on Clint's chest to stop him in his tracks.

"I would suggest you take your hand off of my husband," Lena said in a dark tone with her British accent on point, smiling her pearly whites in an extremely threatening manner. "Before I remove it for you myself."

Suddenly Ahmad began laughing. Lena and Clint both looked to see him leaned back against the bar with a grin on his face.

"Let them pass," Ahmad said with just a hint of his own accent. "Let me guess. The infamous Lawrence couple!"

"You hear that, Ross?" Lena asked, looking up at Clint. "We're infamous."

"Oh no, no, I believe that's just you sweetheart," Clint said with a wink.

Ahmad laughed obnoxiously again, setting down his drink and stepping forward. "Oh I have been waiting for so long to meet you two, I'm thrilled you could join me!" He said with a huge smile on his face, outstretching his hands. "I have heard so much about you two. Mr. Ross Lawrence," he extended his hand and Clint shook it firmly, "Your name has crossed my ears many a time. And of course your lovely wife," he turned to Lena, smiling in a way that made her skin crawl as he took her hand in his own and kissed the back of it. "It is a _genuine_ pleasure to meet you."

Lena smiled, but she was majorly skeeved out. "Mr. Ahmad, the pleasure is all ours," she said in her most posh tone, smiling flirtatiously.

"No please, call me Remy!" He said loudly, abruptly standing to his full height and clapping his hands together. "Only my business associates call me Mr. Ahmad, and you, my friends… you and I are going to be much more than business partners."

"How is that?" Clint asked, taking on the business oriented mind of Ross Lawrence.

"The three of us are going to take over the _world_, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence." Ahmad smiled evilly. "The business opportunities that we can offer each other are going to make us richer than the _gods_," he sneered.

Clint could feel Lena tense up beside him at his choice of words. He squeezed her hip just a bit tighter to warn her to relax.

"Well then, Remy," Lena said, "Let's get to it then, shall we?"

**xXxXx**

"That man is a parasite," Lena hissed as the door to their hotel room closed shut behind Clint. She tore the gold bracelets off of her wrist and threw them on the couch in anger. "I've never wanted to tear out someone's throat so much in my entire _life_." She reached down and begin pulling off her high heels.

"Lena, calm down," Clint said after her.

"Calm down?" Lena whirled around on him, tossing her shoes to the side of the room. "Calm down? Clint, we just spent five hours listening to that piece of crap talk about human beings like they were walking dollar signs!" She shouted, abruptly reaching up and pulling her hair out of its ponytail and letting it fall down around her shoulders messily. "I couldn't even enjoy all of the sights we were shown I was so sick to my stomach just listening to him talk." She spat. "'Oh yes, my name is Remy, you and I are going to take over the world together Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence, hardy har har,'" she mocked Ahmad in an arrogant, masculine voice.

Clint sighed, sitting down at one of the stools in the kitchen area and propping his elbows up on the counter to watch Lena pace the room and let her rant.

"Oh and don't even get me started on all of the flirting," she continued, her eyes blazing with fury. "I mean the man literally grabbed my ass while I was standing right next to you! In what world is that okay? I wanted to tear his wrist to little pieces. You don't do that regardless, and you _definitely_ don't do that when someone is standing next to their husband! Well, pretend husband," she corrected, making Clint chuckle. "Oh you know what I mean!"

"I know what you mean," Clint nodded, speaking in a calm voice. He stood up and began walking over to Lena as she stood there biting her lip and staring up at the ceiling with her hands on her hips. "But we did our job. He trusts us now, he thinks we're just as big scumbags as he is." Lena sighed, lowering her eyes to look up at Clint who stood right in front of her. "You did great," he said honestly. "And now tonight at the ball it's going to be a helluva lot easier for us to take him out."

Lena let out a deep breath, her body relaxing as she ran her hands through her hair. "How are you so calm?" She asked. "Doesn't it bother you?"

"Of course it bothers me," he answered immediately. "I wanted to rip the shitbag's throat out all day today, _especially_ when he grabbed your ass." Lena chuckled, looking down at her feet. "But I just have to keep telling myself that as soon as we get the location of the weapons and people that he's holding tonight at the ball, either I'm going to get to put an arrow through his eye, or you're going to get to crush his skull in with your staff."

Lena smiled, albeit sadly. "Was your first mission this bad?" She asked.

"Oh yeah," Clint snorted. "My first mission was a Ukrainian terrorist that baited kids to a candy stand before blowing them up." Lena flinched visibly. "I was sick to my stomach just looking at the bastard." He paused, reflecting thoughtfully. "But after a while… you just get used to people being so terrible," he said sadly.

Lena looked up at him from underneath her long eyelashes, her deep blue-green eyes filled with a mixture of sadness, anger, and something else that he couldn't quite pinpoint.

"I hope I never do," she whispered.

She and Clint stared at each other with pained expressions. Both of them ached to reach out and touch the other, but didn't out of fear that whatever was between them might snap and break them both. The past five hours had been so incredibly painful, touching one another the way they each wanted to, but feeling guilty that it wasn't happening the way that it should have been – that it wasn't real.

Clint had constantly had either his hand in her own, or around her waist since the second they had left that elevator hours before. Lena could almost still feel his fingers digging into her hip in ways that had her entire body feeling like jelly.

Meanwhile Clint's body had burned all over each time she had put her hand on his thigh, or leaned over and kissed his cheek, or whispered something in his ear, her lips playing a dangerous game that he desperately wanted to win.

They had never kissed though. Their lips had never touched, Clint couldn't make himself do it. Not because he didn't want to, but because he wanted to _so_ _bad_.

"I should probably start getting ready for tonight," Lena finally whispered, breaking the silent spell. Clint gulped and nodded.

"Yeah," he replied. "We have to be down there in two hours."

Lena took a deep breath and mustered a pathetic excuse for a smile before turning on her heel and striding over to the walk-in closet. She turned on her heel to close the sliding doors so that she could get ready in private, her eyes meeting Clint's as she closed herself off.

This ball was going to be quite interesting.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**A/N: This chapter is longer than usual as my way to say sorry for the short one I uploaded yesterday! Please review, hope you enjoy!**

**xXxXx**

Lena ran her hands through her hair to loosen the curls she had been working on, sighing as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She had no qualms about admitting that she looked beautiful, her eyes popping from the dramatic makeup she had worked fairly hard on. But beyond the surface she saw something in her eyes that she hadn't seen in a while. She looked _sad_.

As she dusted some blush on her cheeks, Lena couldn't help but think that it just wasn't supposed to be this way. Shouldn't she be happy that she was on her first real mission, she was undercover (how cool is that?), she was in beautiful Dubai, and she was getting to spend all of this time alone with the man who had stolen her heart?

Lena dropped the makeup brush from her hand and let her head fall into her hands. There. She had finally admitted it to herself. She had fallen for Clint Barton. She was head over heels for the man. She felt something towards him that she had never felt for anyone else in her life.

And in any other circumstances, anyone would have _loved_ being on a mission with the person they had feelings for where they were posing as a married couple, but it just made Lena bitter. She was bitter that she was holding Clint's hand and kissing his cheek and feeling his hands on her waist yet none of it was _real_. Throughout the course of the day she kept finding herself forgetting that it was all pretend, that it was just part of the mission. And that was the hardest part: remembering that none of it was real. And considering the things that Clint had said to her that day in the conference room, it might not _ever_ be real. And that's what made her feel a sadness that went deeper than anything she'd felt before.

Lena lifted her head from her hands and looked at her reflection, her eyes glittering with unshed tears. Growing up, her Uncle Zeke had always told her that tears were good for the soul, that they rid your body of the sadness and hurt to make room for more love.

So why did she feel just as empty as before when the tear slipped down her cheek?

**xXxXx**

Clint ran his hands over his face, letting the scalding hot water pound against his skin as he stood inside the massive shower. He took a deep breath, slowly expelling the tension from his shoulders and trying to focus on the sound of the water falling around him.

Clint Barton was no stranger to aches and pains. From his rough upbringing, to the vigorous SHIELD training he had endured, to all of the various missions he had been on involving knives and bullets and fistfights, Clint knew pain. He was practically best friends with pain.

But the ache that he was feeling in that moment was something completely new to him. It started in his chest and worked its way out to the rest of his body, leaving behind a twinge of hurt everywhere it moved as if it had a life of its own. It made him forget how to breathe, how to think. It was completely foreign to him and quite frankly he had no idea how to deal with it. But he did know where the pain stemmed from.

Lena.

Clint knew from the very second he had laid eyes on Lena Sullivan when she appeared in New Mexico in a flash of light that she was going to impact his life in some way, but he had never in a million years imagined that it would happen like this. That she would change the way he looked at the world, that she would make him question everything he thought he knew about himself, that she would be breaking down walls around his heart that he hadn't even realized he had built.

And he had thought he had been doing the right thing pushing her away from him. He thought he had been protecting: protecting her from falling for someone that couldn't give her everything that she deserved. It had hurt like hell to keep her at arm's length during their training, but in his own weird way it had made sense in his head. Then that day in the conference room she had brought him back down to earth when she had posed a question that had rocked him to his core:

'_Maybe you think you're being noble, or giving me my best chance at happiness or whatever, but did you ever stop and think that maybe I just wanted to try and be happy with you?_'

She wanted to be with _him_. Clint Francis Barton, walking human disaster. And yet Lena still wanted him, which made absolutely no sense. Clint knew that he was a good looking guy, nice and respectful, good at his job and all of that, but couldn't she see that he just wasn't enough for her? She was the princess of another realm for crying out loud. She was beautiful and light and so damn _perfect_. He would ruin her.

But hadn't he already?

Clint had seen the sadness in Lena's eyes every time she caught herself getting too wrapped up in the undercover part of their mission. He had seen the way she looked at him sidelong when she thought he wasn't paying attention (she didn't realize yet that he was _always_ paying attention to her). He knew that she felt something for him, and by rejecting her the way that he was, he was breaking her heart and in turn breaking his own.

And that's where his pain came from. The ache in his chest, the restlessness of his mind, the twitching of his fingers whenever she was near; it all came from the anguish he felt every time he was near her and had to fight to keep from blurting out everything he wanted to say to her. The agony of touching her and holding her and not being able to tell her that he wanted to touch her that way in a setting outside of the mission. The despair of not being able to call Lena Sullivan his own.

Clint Barton had spent the majority of his life being taught that guys like him simply didn't get beautiful things in life. Guys like him got pain, blood, sweat, and broken bones. He got dust, not diamonds. And Lena was a diamond. She was the rarest gem of them all, a diamond that shone brighter than any star in the universe.

And Clint Barton's hands were simply too dirty to hold a diamond like that.

**xXxXx**

Clint stood in the parlor trying to attach his left cufflink with difficulty, cursing under his breath. He glanced at his watch, noting that he had just under five minutes until he would have a clear window to take his bow and arrows and hide them in a vent one floor up. The ball was being held on the 55th floor, two floors above them, and security would be tight up there, but not on the floor below.

"Dammit," Clint muttered under his breath as the cufflink fell from his fingers.

As he bent down to pick up the cufflink, the doors to the walk-in closet that Lena had been getting ready in opened abruptly. Clint completely froze as she stepped out.

His gaze started at her legs and moved up slowly, her silver heels making her muscular legs look miles long, the smooth skin that he ached to run his hands over trailing on forever. She was wearing a deep purple dress, a dangerously high slit drawing Clint's eyes up to her hips, her natural curves accentuated in all the right ways and all the right places. From her waist up to her hips were silver sequins making an X pattern, the sides cut out and showing her toned stomach. Her breasts were pushed up, purple and silver straps wrapping around her neck.

Clint gulped when his eyes reached her face as he finally managed to stand up slowly. Her full lips were shiny with gloss, her cheeks rosy and bright. Her eye makeup was dramatic, black wings extending out from her bright blue-green orbs. Her hair was pulled over one shoulder and pinned back on the opposite side, the blonde strands falling in loose curls that Clint ached to tangle his fingers in while he kissed the gloss right off her lips. But they both knew he wasn't going to do that.

"Woah," Clint whispered, barely even realizing he had spoken. His mind was blank save for one word being repeated over and over again:_ Lena, Lena, Lena._

Lena blushed furiously, unable to make eye contact with Clint. She finally glanced over at him, forcing her expression to remain composed even though he looked downright sinful.

He was wearing an all-black suit that was perfectly tailored to his body. She longed to run her hands over his broad shoulders, to trail her fingers across his sharp jawline. His blonde hair was messy as always, pushed back away from his face in a chaotic looking quiff. She could feel his eyes penetrating every inch of her body, and she knew her face was probably red as a beet.

Lena cleared her throat. "Do you uh, do you need help with that?" She pointed at the cufflink in his hand.

"What?" Clint asked lamely. "Oh. Oh, yeah. Can you…?"

Lena chuckled as Clint looked down at the accessory in his hand irritatedly. She crossed the room, feeling his eyes on her legs, but forcing herself to look indifferent.

"Here, let me see that," she murmured, taking the cufflink from him.

Clint watched her face as she took his forearm in her hand, her eyes squinting and her bottom lip drawn between her teeth in concentration as she attached the small gold piece to his coat.

"There you go," Lena said as smiled at her work, looking up from Clint's arm to see that he was already staring at her.

"You look beautiful," he said honestly, his voice full of an emotion that had Lena's eyes widening.

"I… thanks," she mumbled, looking down at her feet so she wouldn't have to face that look that made it seem as though he could see right into her soul. "You look really nice too. Very clean cut."

Clint chuckled, raising his hand to scratch the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah, well I'm not really a suit guy."

"Could've fooled me," Lena said with playful eyes as she finally looked up at him from beneath her long eyelashes.

Clint could have died and gone to Heaven from that look alone.

"So are you ready?" Lena asked suddenly, turning on her heel and walking over to their weapons bag. Clint took a deep breath when he saw that her back was exposed like earlier, the back of her dress making a Y shape that opened dangerously low all the way down to just above her perfectly sculpted rear.

"Holy shit," Clint said in a voice so low that Lena couldn't hear him. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her as she pulled her staff out of the bag, the weapon at its shortest length. "Yeah, I'm ready," he managed to answer as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped when Lena propped her heel up on a chair to strap the staff to the inside of her thigh. She was doing things to his body that he simply did not have the time to deal with it right before a mission. "Yepp," he croaked out. "I'm sure… ready," he gulped.

"Good," Lena replied in a calm voice, smirking where Clint couldn't see her. She was pleased with the way that Clint was reacting to her even though she knew it was a bit mean to be teasing him the way that she was. But another part of her didn't feel bad at all because Clint Barton needed to know what he was missing out on trying to be Mr. Noble. "Let's go then," she spun around, giving Clint a quick smile before readjusting her dress and striding over to the door.

Clint watched her walk across the room, shaking his head as he followed after her.

"God help me," he muttered under his breath.

**xXxXx**

Clint handed Lena an earpiece as they boarded the elevator once again to leave the 54th floor where Clint had just stashed his bow and arrows while Lena kept a lookout.

"You can go ahead and put that in since your hair will hide it," he told her as he pushed the button for the 55th floor. She nodded, accepting the com and placing it in her ear. "It's already on, but I won't have mine in until I have a chance to leave the ball and grab my bow."

"Got it," Lena replied.

"And just remember, as soon as we get the location of the cargo we'll relay it back to SHIELD, then you and I will get Ahmad alone and take his ass out."

"People," Lena said firmly.

"What?"

"They're not just cargo," Lena looked up at him with hard eyes. "They're people."

Clint smiled down at her, nodding his agreement as the elevator dinged.

"Time to go to work," he said softly as the doors opened. He reached down and intertwined his fingers with Lena's, the two of them looking down at the contact before looking at one another, each allowing themselves a brief, blissful second of pretending it was real.

The moment was broken as the music of the ball crashed over them. They each looked out into the room to see about two hundred people all dressed to the nines just like they were. Everyone had a drink in their hand and thousands of dollars on their wrists in the forms of bracelets or watches. Men were smoking cigars and talking business, women were gossiping and pointing at one another, and a few couples were dancing to the edgy sounding orchestra that was set up on the opposite side of the room.

They stepped out together, Lena leaning in closer to Clint partially to keep their cover and partially because she was way out of her comfort zone. She'd been to several feasts and parties back on Asgard of course, but the difference was that the majority of those Asgardians were amazing, kindhearted people and not arms dealers and human traffickers. Clint could sense her unease and squeezed her hand tightly.

"My friends!" Ahmad suddenly shouted, appearing seemingly out of nowhere on Lena's side.

"Remy, darling," Lena said in her British accent, letting go of Clint's hand and kissing Remy on both cheeks, feeling like a slimeball the whole time.

"Felicity you look stunning!" Ahmad shouted, holding her out by her arms and trailing his eyes up and down her form. Lena feigned flattery, doing a little spin for him and laughing. "Ross, you lucky bastard. How did you ever land an extraordinary woman like this?"

"My impeccable charm of course," Clint said in his Ross tone, wrapping his arm around Lena's waist and extending his other hand to shake Ahmad's firmly.

"That among other things," Lena winked, wrapping one arm under and over Clint's shoulder, pressing her chest up against him. The trio laughed, Clint and Lena feeling as though they could gag.

"Oh you two give me hope for love!" Ahmad shouted loudly, raising his hands up dramatically. "I see you two look at one another and my heart overflows. Why did we wait so long to do business together, my new friends?"

"Because you weren't offering to pay us enough," Clint quipped, making them all laugh once again.

"Ah, we shall agree to disagree," Ahmad said teasingly. "Now please, please, we shall talk business later. Go, go! Mingle, dance, drink. I shall send my men to collect you when we…" he looked around, lowering his voice, "Move on to the more financially auspicious portion of the night."

Lena smiled brightly through her disgust. "That sounds perfect. Ross sweetheart," she looked up at Clint, "Would you care to dance?"

"Ah!" Ahmad shouted once again, catching their attention. "I beg of you two, dance! My heart longs to see a couple so in love out on the dance floor."

He looked between the two of them expectantly and Clint looked down at Lena. "Well I guess if the boss man wants us to dance, we dance," he said with a smile.

Ahmad was practically grinning from ear to ear as Clint and Lena walked out onto the dance floor smiling as if they were lovesick fools. The music was timed perfectly, the previous song coming to an end as Clint took Lena's hand and led her out. The next song began to start up softly as he held her out with a smile.

"Do you even know how to dance?" Lena asked with a raised eyebrow, her back to Ahmad.

Clint glanced over her shoulder at the man watching them for just a brief second before smirking, yanking his arm and abruptly pulling Lena into his chest. She gasped, her hands flying up to his chest, her eyes wide and staring up at him, not even a breath of space between them.

"You're about to find out," he grinned.

And if Lena Sullivan thought that she was done being surprised in life, Clint certainly proved her wrong. The man could _dance_. His hands were steady on her hips, his body taut and confident as he swayed her around the room. They could feel several people's eyes on them – not just Ahmad's. They were a source of envy for everyone in the ballroom. To everyone watching they looked like an incredibly attractive couple madly in love as if they were newlyweds, dancing with one another like nobody else was in the room.

And they weren't that far off from the truth. As they danced through one song and onto the next, the pair almost forgot that they were on a mission. They smiled at one another, their bodies learning the way the other moved, laughing every time Clint pulled some ridiculous move just to get a reaction out of Lena.

On the third song, Clint suddenly dipped Lena backwards making her laugh loudly, her hair falling around her face as he swiftly pulled her back up and into his chest. She was grinning wildly, her eyes bright with a life that hadn't been there before. Clint gripped her hand tight as if she would disappear as she giggled in his hold. She looked up at his eyes to see that he had a wistful expression on his face. The space between them grew thick, Lena's smile falling slowly as Clint reached out and pushed her hair away from her face.

His one hand stayed in her hair while the other held onto her tightly, their faces mere inches from one another. Clint couldn't think when he was this close to her, the air between them crackling with tension, their emotions running higher than ever before.

In the back of his mind, Clint knew that he shouldn't be leaning forward. He knew that he shouldn't kiss her because as soon as his lips touched hers, he would be addicted and nothing would ever be the same. But when her eyes glanced down to his lips, those thoughts dissolved into nothing.

They both leaned forward at the same time, the room around them fading to black. They moved slowly, and Clint could hear Lena's almost inaudible gasp as his lips just barely grazed hers. There wasn't even any pressure between them, just intermingled breaths and jumbled emotions.

"Lena," he whispered against her lips, and Lena groaned as she literally _felt_ him say her name against her mouth as if it were a prayer.

But just as the contact was about to become a real kiss, someone clapped a hand on Clint's shoulder roughly, breaking the spell between them.

Clint jerked away, looking over his shoulder to see one of Ahmad's men towering over him by several inches. Lena's eyes fluttered open at the lack of contact, her eyes hazy. She quickly became alert though when she saw Ahmad's guard.

"Mr. Ahmad is ready for you," the man said in a dark voice, glancing once at Lena indifferently before gesturing for them to follow him to a set of double doors on the other side of the room.

Clint exhaled slowly, turning to look down at Lena, who still looked a bit disoriented. "Come on," he said softly, dropping his hand to hers and squeezing it gently. She let him lead her after the man in a daze, shaking her head to clear away the fog of arousal behind her eyes, willing her heart to stop racing and focus on the mission at hand.

Her heartbeat was almost back to normal when they exited the ballroom, the guard leading them down the hall in a tense silence. About a minute later they came to a heavy door, the guard looking over his shoulder at them briefly before opening it and standing back so they could enter.

Clint nodded at the man, his face hard and tense. He was only able to force back the thoughts of almost kissing Lena because he knew that if he wasn't focused, he or Lena both could get hurt.

The room they entered was dark, and they both blinked several times to adjust to the light. When they were able to see the room though, they almost wished they couldn't.

Lena gasped, forcing herself to keep her hands by her side and not cover her mouth in shock. Clint's entire body went rigid, his hand gripping Lena's so tightly that it would have hurt were she not so focused on trying not to get sick everywhere.

The room was lit with dim blue lights, about fifteen men standing around and talking lowly. But what was so sickening was that the entire left side of the room was a window leading to another room that was holding five women who were standing straight as a rod and wearing lingerie, their hair matted and dirty, their bodies gaunt with malnutrition, pure and utter despair written all over their faces.

They had just walked into a human auction.

"Clint," Lena whispered under her breath so low that nobody else could hear her.

"I know," he whispered back, unable to provide her with any sort of comfort.

"Ah, my friends!" They heard Ahmad shout, stepping away from two men he had been talking with and walking over to them with a wide smile on his face as if he weren't in the middle of a disgusting and vile business deal. "I'm so glad you are here!"

Lena smiled, afraid that it wasn't nearly as convincing as she needed it to be. "Oh Remy, we are the ones who are honored." The words tasted vile in her mouth.

Clint cleared his throat, pursing his lips. "While my wife's words are true," he said tersely, "You must know that this isn't our… area of expertise," he said as his eyes flicked over to the women.

"Ah, yes, yes," Ahmad nodded. "I do apologize," he gestured back to the women, "There was a debate over pricing with this specific cargo. They should be leaving shortly though, and then we will move onto your specific sales." He smiled, holding his hands out in front of him.

_You mean the children you kidnapped that you're trying to sell to us_? Lena thought to herself, biting her tongue to keep from laying into the little cockroach and beating him to a bloody pulp.

"Wonderful," Lena said. "How long do you think that will take though?"

Ahmad sighed, looking over his shoulder at where two men were in a heated discussion, pointing at the redheaded woman behind the glass.

"I am afraid I cannot say," Ahmad sighed. "How about this though," he turned back to them with his creepy smile, "Allow me to show you the most beautiful view in the Burj Al Arab that is coincidentally on this very floor. Well, the most beautiful view apart from you, Mrs. Lawrence," he winked flirtatiously.

Lena giggled as if she were flattered. "Oh Remy, you are too much!" She said in a high pitched tone.

Clint tensed up as he watched the way Remy was looking Lena up and down, a vile hunger in his eyes. But he forced his attention back to the mission at hand, knowing that Lena could take care of herself.

"Sweetheart why don't you go with Remy," Clint turned to say to Lena, who looked up at him curiously. "And I'll join you in a bit." He turned back to Ahmad, who had narrowed his eyes slightly in suspicion. "I wanted to speak with a Mr. Burgess back at the party about purchasing his yacht."

"Oh Ross," Lena rolled her eyes fondly, "You and your boats," she teased, knowing that Clint was lying in order to go retrieve his bow and arrow.

"You love my boats," Clint looked down at her with a smile before turning back to Ahmad. "Now you keep an eye on her for me, Remy," he said in that annoying tone that rich men get when they refer to their wives as if they're objects.

"Of course, my friend!" Ahmad said loudly. "Go, go, purchase your yacht! Felicity and I will have a splendid time," he said with a wink.

Clint took a deep breath and leaned down and kissed Lena's cheek before bidding them goodbye, reluctantly pulling his hand away from Lena's. He exited the room, looking over his shoulder as Ahmad extended his arm to Lena with a sly look on his face. Clint hated himself for leaving her with that cruel, evil man, but he did it knowing that Lena could take care of him if she needed to, and that best case scenario he would get to put an arrow in the man's eye.

**xXxXx**

As soon as Clint was around the corner, he jogged to the nearest stairwell and ran down it. He tore off his suit coat and loosened his tie as he jumped onto the last landing, poking his head out into the hallway to make sure it was clear. He rushed over to the vent where he had stashed his bow, arrows, and earpiece in, pulling them down as quickly as he could.

He strapped his quiver around his back before looking down at his bow with a smile.

"Hello, baby. Did you miss me?"

Clint threw the bow over his shoulder after stuffing his suit coat into the vent and closing it shut. He put his earpiece in as he jogged over to corner and looked around it, seeing that the coast was clear.

"Lena," he said into the earpiece. "I know you can't respond, but I'm heading back up. We need that location now." He paused, breathing slowly as he thought about Lena alone with Ahmad. "Be careful, Lena," he added softly.

With just one more second of allowing himself to worry after her, Clint double checked the hallway again before running back to the stairwell.

**xXxXx**

"This is beautiful," Lena said softly in her put-on British accent as Ahmad showed her the amazing view from the 55th floor.

And while the view was in fact beautiful, so high up it made her head dizzy as she looked out across all of Dubai and out to the ocean, Lena couldn't appreciate it knowing that 100 feet away there were five women being sold into the sex trade. Not to mention the countless others that Ahmad was planning to buy and sell that night.

"Indeed it is. But not nearly as beautiful as you are in that dress," Ahmad flirted shamelessly, turning to look Lena up and down with a smirk.

Lena felt bile rising up in her throat as she suffered under his gaze, but she forced it back down.

"Remy, you mustn't talk to a married woman like that," she said in an equally flirty tone, glancing at him from out of the corner of her eye and grinning slyly.

"But I cannot help myself," Ahmad put a hand on his chest. "You are too beautiful, too gorgeous for me not to shower you with compliments!"

Lena smiled, but her mind flitted back to Clint as it always did. Sure, Clint had called her beautiful before, but he always made a point to compliment her on things outside of her visible beauty, and those were the compliments that she really appreciated. Anyone could be beautiful, but Clint made her feel uniquely special when he told her that she was dedicated, passionate, and loyal. He complimented her on the things that would last even when her outer beauty was long gone.

"You're too sweet, Remy dear," Lena said, forcing her attention back to the mission. Her eyes turned back to look out the window, and she jumped in fright when she suddenly heard Clint's voice in her earpiece.

"_Lena, I know you can't respond, but I'm heading back up."_

"Are you alright?" Remy asked, looking down at her in concern. Lena looked back up at him with wide eyes, her mouth parted.

"_We need that location now," _Clintcontinued_._

"I'm fine," Lena said, her voice cracking and making Ahmad raise his eyebrows at her suspiciously. She smiled brightly. "We're just so high up," she said dumbly, looking back out the window. "It startled me."

Ahmad seemed to accept that answer. "Ah, yes. The skyscrapers in Dubai are not for the weak stomached," he said haughtily.

"_Be careful, Lena."_

Lena's heart lurched at Clint's words and she wanted to smile at his concern, but she forced herself to focus back on Ahmad.

"I suppose I will simply have to get used to it then," she said with a smile.

"Does that mean we will continue doing business?" Ahmad asked.

"I believe so. My husband seemed to like the numbers you were running past him earlier this evening," Lena said. "And I personally wouldn't mind coming back to Dubai once tonight's business is concluded," she winked.

"Excellent," Ahmad said as he smiled in an especially disturbing manner. He glanced over his shoulder at his guards who were standing on the other side of the room. Lena saw him wave them away out of the corner of her eye and her skin began to crawl. "Now, Felicity," Ahmad said in a low voice when his guards were gone, raising his hand and placing it in between her shoulder blades. Lena immediately tensed, but hid it well. "Are you interested in… any _other_ areas of business?" He asked in what Lena thought was supposed to be a seductive tone, but just came across as creepy.

Lena wanted to rip his hand off of her back and break every bone in his tiny little arm, but she forced herself to remain calm. Now was the time to get the location of the weapons and people he was carrying before they were moved, and she had to do it right for the sake of those people.

"Mr. Ahmad, I just have one thing to ask you," Lena turned slowly so that her back was to the massive window. She smirked, preparing for the epic beat down that was about to take place. Her fingers were twitching as she began to reach for her staff, but then she froze.

Over Ahmad's shoulder, Lena saw Clint standing in the doorway across the room with wide eyes, a dead guard with an arrow in his chest lying behind him.

**xXxXx**

Clint raced up the stairs as quickly as possible. He had to take the long way around to the other side of the tower so that nobody from the ball might spot him. He stayed low to the ground, his expression stoic and deadly. He was in mission mode.

Just as he approached the room they had been in earlier where the women were being sold, Clint darted behind a corner as the room began to empty. He pressed his back to the wall as hard as he could as the group of fifteen or so men walked right past him unknowingly, laughing and talking loudly. Clint had to hold himself back from killing each and every one of the sick bastards.

Once the group had rounded the corner and headed back to the ballroom, Clint stepped back out into the hallway silently. He stuck his head into the room from before, his bow up and at the ready, only to see that the room had emptied out completely – the women included.

"Dammit," he cursed under his breath. He stepped back out into the hallway and checked each end before heading in Lena's direction. He had just rounded a corner when he jumped back and flattened himself against the wall like before as a guard saw him for just a brief second.

"Did you see that?" Clint heard the one guard say to the other.

"See what?" The other asked.

"Over there, I think I saw someone."

"Well go check it out."

"But the boss said–"

"The boss just sent us out so he could fuck that chick in the purple dress," the other muttered.

Clint's entire body went rigid, and his expression was murderous.

"Either go check out what you think you saw, or shut the fuck up," the guard continued.

"Fine," the other one muttered, and Clint could hear his footsteps coming up and around the corner.

As soon as the guard rounded the corner, Clint moved so fast that the guard didn't have time react, moving around behind and wrapping his hands around the man's neck, twisting hard. He heard the guard's neck snap, his body going slack. Clint lowered him to the ground silently, reaching over his shoulder to grab an arrow and load his bow.

He peeked around the corner just long enough to see the other guard with his back facing his end of the hallway. Without a second of hesitation, Clint silently and swiftly moved across the hall to hide behind another corner. A few seconds later he moved even closer, but was still out sight, the guard completely oblivious.

The guard suddenly sighed loudly. "McKennis," he called out. "McKennis what the hell are you–"

But he never finished, because Clint leapt out and shot off one arrow right into the man's chest. He fell down to the floor in a heap, and Clint stepped over him and opened the door painstakingly slow leading to the room with Lena and Ahmad.

"Mr. Ahmad," he heard Lena saying in that damned British accent. He wanted to breathe with relief that she was okay, "I just have one thing to ask you."

Clint froze as he looked up, seeing Ahmad standing dangerously close to Lena in front of a massive window. Lena caught Clint's eyes over Ahmad's shoulder, noting that her gaze flickered behind him to the dead guard.

She froze for a moment, but then she smiled dangerously, looking back to Ahmad. Clint closed the door silently behind him and loaded his bow, creeping up behind the man.

"And what is that question, my beautiful Felicity," Ahmad said in what was an attempt to be seductive, his face leaning in close towards hers as he reached around and placed his hand on her ass.

Lena smirked. "Which bone would you like me to break first?"

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"Alright, the hand then," she said matter-of-factly in her normal voice, reaching behind her and grabbing Ahmad's wrist, twisting it violently.

Ahmad screamed as the bones in his wrist broke, falling to his knees. Lena reached around and grabbed him in a headlock, spinning him around to face Clint. The man's eyes went wide when he saw the arrow aimed at his face.

"Scream and this arrow goes through your throat," Clint threatened darkly.

Lena smirked, leaning down to whisper in Ahmad's ear, "Trust me, he isn't bluffing."

"Who are you?" Ahmad choked out. "You're not the Lawrences!"

"No shit," Clint snapped. "Now tell us, where are you keeping those people?" He asked in a loud voice.

Ahmad laughed. "You think I'll tell you anything?" He sneered.

Lena rolled her eyes, jerking her arm and dislocating Ahmad's shoulder. He cried out in pain, cursing in another language.

"Answer the question," she hissed.

"You bitch," Ahmad spat. "Let me go and I'll tell you."

Lena glanced up at Clint, who nodded. She pushed Ahmad away from her, the man falling to the ground in a heap with a shout of pain. Lena moved to stand next to Clint, reaching down and grabbing her staff. Ahmad's eyes widened as it lit up in her grasp, extending to its normal length of its own accord.

"Magic," he whispered in awe.

"Where are the people?" Clint asked even louder. "I won't ask again." His bow was pulled taut and his expression reflected just how ready he was to kill the man.

"You're going to kill me anyway," Ahmad spat. "Why should I tell you where anyone is?"

"If you tell us, we might not kill you," Lena said.

"That's a big might," Clint muttered under his breath.

Ahmad was breathing heavily, holding onto his broken wrist pathetically, his back hunched over to try and alleviate the pain in his shoulder as well.

"You two," he chuckled without humor, "You two tricked me good. I applaud you."

"We don't want your applause, we want the location of the men, women, and children you're trafficking. So give it to us _now_," Lena said darkly, her staff lighting up brighter with her anger.

"I want protection," Ahmad said immediately.

"Too damn bad," Clint said. "Give us the location."

Ahmad cursed, moving to stand up. As he did though, he used his good hand to reach inside his coat and whip out a knife, flinging it at Clint's face expertly.

Lena moved faster than even she knew she could, bringing her staff down on the blade to knock it out of the air in a shower of blue sparks. She spun around and swung the staff in Ahmad's direction, sending a blue force field that knocked him back down to the ground.

Clint stared at her with wide eyes. He knew she was a badass, but that was on a whole other level. She stood there with a dangerous glint in her eyes that matched her dark makeup, her lean legs exposed from the slit in her dress.

"Thanks," Clint said in awe. Lena turned and shot him a grin.

"Fine, fine!" Ahmad cried out, staring up at Lena with a terrified expression. "My men are holding them in a warehouse four miles east of here. You'll find everything, men, women, children, weapons, you can have all of it! Just please don't kill me!"

"We're not going to kill you," Lena muttered, walking over and picking up the knife that she had knocked to the ground. "At least not yet. Not until we know for sure that what you say is true, and then we'll go from there."

Clint gave Lena a quick nod before reaching up and relaying Ahmad's information to the SHIELD agents waiting for them through his earpiece.

"Who are you people?" Ahmad asked breathlessly. Clint and Lena glanced at one another before looking back down at him. "You with your talk of business and finances!" He shouted at Clint. "And you!" He turned to Lena, who cocked her head to the side. "Your fake accent, your flirting–"

"To be fair, I only ever flirted with him," she pointed at Clint.

"And then you turn out to be a warrior wielding a magic staff!" Ahmad shouted.

"Well you're not wrong there," Clint muttered. Lena glanced over at him wryly

"You both are full of lies! You have arrows, and you have magic, and sparks fly as you strike at me–"

"Sparkstrike!" Lena shouted loudly, turning to face Clint with a big grin on her face.

"Sparkstrike?" Clint echoed her curiously.

"Yeah! Sparkstrike! That's a cool codename, right?" She asked enthusiastically.

"Hm," Clint nodded thoughtfully, thinking it over. "Lena Sullivan, codename Sparkstrike," he said slowly, tasting the name on his tongue. He looked up at her with a smile. "I like it. I like it a lot," he said honestly. "It fits you."

"Finally," Lena said exasperatedly, "It only took a month." She grinned even wider. "Hawkeye and Sparkstrike, the dynamic duo saves the day from one of the world's leading douchebags," she said excitedly with a glance at Ahmad, who looked downright terrified.

"You two are crazy!" Ahmad yelled.

"Well," Lena said, echoing Clint's earlier words, looking over at him with a grin. "You're not wrong there."

**xXxXx**

**A/N: YAY, Lena finally has a codename! What do you guys think? This chapter was really hard to write, so I'd really appreciate some feedback! What do you think will happen next?**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**A/N: So I have the next several chapters planned out and I'm super excited because we only have 4 more chapters (including this one) before we get to the Avengers plotline! So chapter 17 will be when we see the Avengers Assemble movie plot start up and I have some HUGE plans that I think you guys will love. **

**Either way, I reaaaaally think you guys are going to like this chapter (wink, wink) Make sure to review! **

**xXxXx**

"What the hell is an _almost_ kiss?" Natasha asked incredulously as she reached for more popcorn. "Either you kissed or you didn't, there's no in between."

Lena sighed dramatically, keeping her eyes focused on the television as Jigsaw revealed his super evil, twisted plan.

"I already told you, Nat. Our lips touched, but it wasn't a kiss," Lena replied.

"That's a kiss."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not," Natasha sing-songed. Lena laughed, focusing her attention back on the movie.

"Okay there's no way he's actually going to saw his own foot off," Lena muttered as she watched the two men on the screen.

"Okay so say I believe this almost kiss thing," Natasha continued.

"Nat," Lena groaned, flinging her head back against the couch. "You're ruining our Halloween Scare-a-Thon."

"Halloween comes around every year, this is more important," Natasha said matter-of-factly, reaching over and pausing the movie. She crossed her legs and turned to face Lena head on, who was looking at her curiously. "Alright, spill it."

"Spill what?" Lena asked incredulously.

"The truth," Natasha said shortly. "None of this 'It's complicated,' or 'You're reading into this too much' crap. Tell me what happened between you and Clint."

Lena sighed, running her hand through her hair. Scare-a-Thon had started out just fine except for the lack of alcohol that Lena had really been looking forward to. Then Natasha had started grilling her about the mission in Dubai, and Lena had accidentally let it slip about the almost kiss she and Clint had shared at the ball. So now she and Natasha were laid up on her couch in sweats, t-shirts, and no makeup on as they stuffed their faces with popcorn and Natasha begged for juicy details about her two friends' love lives.

"I already told you about the almost kiss, that was the biggest thing," Lena finally said. "We were dancing, and we just… we got caught up in all of it. The pretending became too real, it was an honest mistake."

Her voice cracked on the word 'mistake,' and Natasha raised her eyebrows.

"Then after the mission was done," Lena continued quickly before Natasha could call her out on her bullshit, "We met up with SHIELD and helped secure the warehouse, got everybody out and into safe hands, then we got on the plane to bring Ahmad back here to the states."

"And then what happened?" Natasha pressed.

"Nothing," Lena said with a shrug. "Clint kept an eye on Ahmad for the first five hours of the flight and let me sleep, then we traded off. We got back to HQ, went to debriefing, I was promoted to an official SHIELD agent for my _spectacular_ work," she said teasingly, "And then we were each given five days off. End of story."

"And you haven't seen Clint since then?"

"Nope," Lena said. "But I'll see him in two days, don't worry."

"And what will you say?" Natasha asked. "'Oh Clint, I've missed your almost kisses so much, take me in your arms I beg of you!'" She mocked in a high pitched voice.

"Ew, shutup!" Lena shouted, throwing popcorn at her friend. The two girls laughed, both brushing popcorn off of their laps. "But for your information I'm not going to say anything about the almost kiss," Lena shrugged. "We were on a mission and we just… we got carried away by the thrill of it. Pretending to be married, holding hands, the fancy party… it's easy to trick yourself into thinking it's all real," she said sadly.

"Hey," Natasha's voice dropped to a sympathetic tone, "You don't have to lie to me, you know."

Lena's eyes flitted up to meet Natasha's, her expression reflecting the sadness in her heart.

"I don't…" Lena paused as she choked up, biting down hard on her lip. "I don't know how I let it get this far," she said honestly. "How I let myself get these feelings. It's not… It's just not smart."

"Love isn't about being smart," Natasha said wisely.

"I'm not in love with him," Lena said quickly. "I know I'm not, but… I think that I could be. One day." She took a deep breath, exhaling a great deal of tension with the admission. Natasha was quiet and without judgement, which Lena was thankful for. "And that absolutely terrifies me," she added, her voice shaking.

"Why?" Natasha inquired.

"Because we can't be together," Lena said as if it were obvious.

"Well why the hell not?" Natasha asked incredulously. "He obviously has feelings for you Lena, you can't be that blind–"

"I know that he feels something for me," Lena agreed exasperatedly, rubbing her hands over her eyes.

"Then just be together!"

"I can't, Nat!" Lena shouted back, her frustration reaching its tipping point. "Look, you just don't get it okay?" She snapped. "Clint has this obsession with being noble, he thinks he's protecting me by rejecting me. And then on top of that…" she trailed off, her next words catching in her throat.

"What is it?" Natasha asked softly. "What else is holding you back?"

Lena took a deep, shaky breath. "Back on Asgard, Frigga – Odin's wife – she told me something. Asgardians, they… they feel things more deeply than humans. Grief becomes anguish. Happiness becomes joy. Sadness becomes depression. And love–"

"Turns into something else entirely," Natasha said in understanding.

"Exactly. And as a half-Asgardian, it makes sense for me. When I lost Zeke and then Jem, I didn't grieve like normal people. I didn't go through stages of denial and eventually acceptance, I spiraled completely out of control. My emotions are constantly on this roller coaster that I have no control over, and if Clint and I ever actually…" she trailed off, unable to say the words.

"You're afraid you'll love him more than he can love you," Natasha said.

Lena bit down on her lip, wiping away the single tear that managed to slip out of her eye.

"I can't allow myself to become dependent on someone's affections like that," she explained. "I mean, Clint doesn't even trust me enough to tell me anything about himself, and here I am pouring my heart out to him every time we're in the same room."

"Clint doesn't open up to anyone, you can't take that personally."

"But I do," Lena said exasperatedly. "I do take it personally, Nat. And maybe him trying to be Mr. Noble is what's best for both of us, because I just can't afford to fall harder for him than he is capable of falling for me."

Natasha sighed, smiling sadly at her friend. "I think you're underestimating him, Lena."

"It's nothing against Clint, I'm sure he'll fall in love with a normal human girl and she'll love him equally back, but I can't be that for him," Lena said. "My DNA literally won't allow it."

"Oh for fuck's sake," Natasha snapped, rolling her eyes. Lena looked at her in surprise. "That is the most bullshit excuse I have ever heard. Love isn't about DNA, it isn't about what's in your blood, or your genetics. Love goes way beyond that. It's a part of who you are, and the only person you're hurting by denying your true feelings is yourself. Don't blame it on being half-Asgardian because that's crap and you know it. You're also half-human, in case you've forgotten. But even if you were a green alien with antennas, your feelings would still be valid. Stop making excuses because you're scared to fall in love."

Lena was speechless, her eyes wide as she stared at Natasha. The redhead's words cut her right to the very core.

"Well then," Lena finally said, her voice cracking. "Thanks for your brutal honesty, Nat."

"Anytime, Sparkstrike," Natasha smirked, standing up from the couch. "Now I've gotta get the hell out of here. Too much girl talk makes me feel kind of sick."

Lena laughed, standing up as well. "So you're just going to leave before we even finish the first movie after you didn't bring me alcohol and made me feel about two inches tall?"

"Sure am," Natasha grabbed her keys from the coffee table and started heading towards Lena's front door. "Some of us actually have to work tomorrow," she smirked.

Natasha walked over to the door, opening it and pausing halfway through the doorframe. She turned back to Lena with a thoughtful expression.

"Give him a chance, okay?" She said in a serious tone. "I've known Clint for a while, and I've never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. He's not perfect, but quite frankly you're pretty screwed up too."

"Gee thanks, Nat," Lena said dryly.

"Just give him a chance to surprise you," Natasha continued with a smile. "Oh and by the way, Dr. Gordon turns out to be the bad guy," she pointed at the TV.

"Aw, screw you, Nat!"

Natasha darted out the door before Lena could throw anything at her, laughing the whole way out. Lena chuckled, walking over to her tiny kitchen to grab the broom and sweep up the mess of popcorn they had made.

Natasha's words kept replaying in Lena's mind as she cleaned up. Was she really making excuses because she was afraid? Lena prided herself on her courage, but was she hiding behind a wall of fear when it came to Clint?

Lena shook the disturbing thoughts out of her mind, thinking to herself that she would worry about it tomorrow. Besides, she had two more days until she was going to have to see Clint again. That was plenty of time to sort out her emotions.

Over the next fifteen minutes, Lena cleaned up the mess that she and Natasha had made, washed her face, brushed her teeth and threw her hair up into a ponytail, and was just about to crash for the night when there was a knock on the door.

Lena chuckled as she headed towards the door. "What'd you forget this time, Nat?" She called out. "We both know it wasn't the alcohol since you–"

But it wasn't Nat at the door.

Lena froze, her heart dropping to her stomach when she saw Clint leaning against the doorframe, his arm propped up against the top beam. He was wearing jeans, a black t-shirt with a gray flannel over top, and his leather jacket over that. And while Lena normally would have taken the time to appraise how good he looked in his casual wear, all she could look at was his face.

Clint looked _wrecked_. His blonde hair was messed up more than usual, and the purple bags underneath his eyes were especially prominent. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Hey," he croaked out, giving a weak smile upon seeing Lena looking up at him. "Sorry I didn't… I wasn't planning on coming over."

"Clint," Lena breathed out dumbly. "What are you… how did you know where I live?" Before Clint could answer her face dawned in realization.

"Natasha," they both said simultaneously.

"Of course she called you," Lena muttered. "I should've known." She looked back up at Clint to see him looking down at her with a lost expression. "Well come on in," she finally said, widening the door and walking back inside her apartment, leaving him with an open invitation.

Clint hesitated, but eventually followed after her, closing the door behind him.

"Do you uh, do you want something to drink?" Lena asked awkwardly, walking into the kitchen.

"No, I'm good," Clint said softly, following after her with his hands in his pockets.

Lena didn't reply to that, filling up a glass of water for herself. An awkward silence fell over them for a few seconds.

"I like your place," Clint finally said, looking around at her apartment.

"Thanks. It's kind of small, but I like it. It's just somewhere to lay my head down when I'm not at SHIELD." She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Yeah, that's good," Clint mumbled with a nod. He looked around the apartment again, and Lena couldn't help but notice just how lost he looked.

"Clint why are you here?" She finally asked abruptly. Clint snapped his eyes back to her.

"What?"

"I said," she put her glass down on the counter and crossed her arms over her chest with an attitude. "Why are you here?"

Clint took a deep breath, his eyes boring into Lena's own with such an intensity that Lena had to look away.

"I'm here because I can't stay away from you for one more second."

Lena's eyes snapped back to Clint when she heard the raw emotion in his voice. He was staring at her with a vulnerability that she had never seen in him before.

"What?" She whispered.

"I'm a wreck, Lena," he said in a hoarse voice. "I'm a complete wreck. I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't even _shoot_!" He said incredulously, as if the thought alone was appalling – and it was. Clint could always shoot his bow.

"Clint, if you're only here because Natasha called you then I think you need to–"

"No, no, it's more than that," Clint interrupted, taking a step closer to her then seeming to think better of it and staying where he was. "Nat gave me the incentive to get up off my ass, but I'm here because I want to be. You deserve an explanation."

Lena sighed. "You don't have to do this, Clint," she whispered.

"Yes, I do," he said firmly. "And I know I'm not good with words, but I need to do this now while I have the guts."

Clint took a deep breath, his eyes staring into Lena's own, forcing the words that had been running through his mind for the past two days out of his mouth.

"I'm crazy about you, Lena," he finally said. Lena gasped at his declaration. "I am absolutely fucking crazy about you. I can't get you out of my head, I can't stop thinking about Dubai, I can't stop wondering what you're doing every damn second of every damn day."

Lena stared at him with an unreadable expression, her mouth parted slightly. Clint was breathing heavily, his eyes glazed over with emotion.

"I've fallen for you and I've fallen hard," Clint continued. "And that scares the shit out of me," he admitted. "I'm so damn scared of what you make me feel, Lena. I'm way out of my zone with this. All I want to do is the right thing by you but I don't know what that is," he laughed without humor. "For a while I thought that the right thing to do was stay away from you, and a part of me still thinks I should be doing that."

"If you're trying to stay away from me then why are you here?" Lena finally spoke, her voice shaking with raw emotion.

"Well the first reason is because Natasha said that if I didn't come talk to you she would kill me in my sleep," he said honestly, making Lena laugh through her anxiety.

Clint smiled as she covered her flushed face with her hands, her shoulders moving up and down with chortles. She finally looked back up at him with a sad smile. Clint's face sobered as he took in just how beautiful she looked.

"And the second reason?" Lena asked in a soft spoken voice.

Clint froze, staring Lena down for a few seconds. The tension between them was thicker than ever before, the only sounds being their heavy breathing and the sounds of Friday night nightlife in DC outside of her window.

"I'm here," Clint finally spoke, taking his hands out of his pockets and beginning to walk slowly towards Lena, "Because I'm selfish." He advanced on her slowly, Lena matching each one of his steps forward with one step back, her eyes wide. "I'm selfish, Lena," he repeated as Lena backed into the countertop, her hands gripping the marble behind her as she kept her eyes trained on Clint's. "I'm selfish because I want you in my life more than anything else in the world and I can't find it in me to stay away from you for one more second."

They were chest to chest now, Lena breathing heavily as Clint towered over her, his face mere inches away from hers. She was physically incapable of tearing her eyes away from his.

Clint stared down at her, trying to read her reaction. Her cheeks were flushed, her breathing quickened. Her body was obviously reacting to him, but was her heart?

He raised his hands slowly, pushing her hair back from her face before settling his palms on her cheeks. Lena sighed at the contact, leaning into his touch as her eyes fluttered shut for a brief second before opening them and looking back into his deep green eyes.

"What are you doing?" She whispered.

Clint shook his head. "I don't know," he said in a deeper voice. "But it feels right."

The moment seemed to drag on forever, Lena raising her shaking hands to place them on Clint's waist. He used the pads of his thumbs and caressed her cheeks, thinking that her eyes looked like the color of the ocean when it reflected the sunlight.

Clint began to lean in first, unable to hold back for a second longer. He moved slowly, as if he were afraid she would disappear right in front of him if he moved too quickly. She responded in kind, her grip on him tightening as she leaned up on her tiptoes, her eyes fluttering shut.

But just as they were both about to initiate the contact that they both so desperately craved, Lena said one word that felt like a slap to Clint's face.

"No."

Clint jerked away, his eyes snapping open to see Lena with her head slightly bowed, not looking at him but also not taking her hands off of him. His brow furrowed in confusion as she finally looked back up into his eyes, a sad expression on her delicate face.

"Clint, I'm so sorry," she whispered upon seeing the hurt etched behind his eyes, "It's not that I–"

"No, it's fine," Clint's voice cracked as he somehow found the strength to step away from her and lower his arms. They both felt the ache in their chests at the loss of contact. "I shouldn't have assumed that… I'll just head out."

"No, wait!" Lena shouted as he turned to leave, reaching out and grabbing his wrist. Clint immediately turned back around to face her, the hope obvious all over his face. "It's not that I don't want to…" she trailed off, unable to find the right words to express what she was feeling. "I want to be with you, Clint," she finally said in a firm voice, Clint's eyes widening in surprise. "I want to be with you more than anything else in the world. It's practically killing me _not_ being with you."

"Then why–"

"I have to look out for myself," Lena said in a rare display of justified selfishness. "I can't let myself fall for you any further than I already have without some sort of assurance that this is _real_." She paused, letting the weight of her words sink in. "I need to know that you're serious about this because I can't play any more games."

"I am serious about this," Clint said immediately, stepping back up to her and placing one hand on her cheek and the other on her hip, holding her close. "I'm more serious about you and I than I am about anything else in my life, I swear."

"I need a guarantee of that."

"How?" Clint asked, his green eyes bright as he searched Lena's face for some sort of sign. "I'll do anything, just name it."

Lena paused. "I need to know something about your past," she finally said.

Clint's entire body tensed, his eyes losing the brightness that had been there just seconds before. He dropped his hands, stepping back and looking away, his mouth opening and closing with unspoken words.

"I'm not trying to get your whole life story," Lena said quickly, trying to reassure him. "I just need something, Clint. Something that shows that you trust me that way that I trust you." Clint kept his eyes trained on the kitchen floor, his face drawn together in deep thought. "I mean I don't even know your middle name for crying out loud," Lena muttered.

"Francis."

"What?"

"My middle name is Francis," Clint murmured, his eyes still downcast.

Lena didn't respond for a few seconds, but eventually started to laugh. Clint's lips quirked up in a smile as well as he finally looked back up at her.

"While I appreciate that," Lena chuckled, "I'm going to need a bit more than that."

Clint sighed, running his hands over his face. He looked over at Lena's hopeful expression. Inside his mind he was having a war with himself. On one hand, of course he would tell Lena anything she wanted to know, it wasn't even a question. On the other hand though, his biggest fear was that she would look at him and see the monster that he believed himself to be.

But that look on Lena's face had his fears being pushed to the back of his mind.

"I'll tell you everything," he finally said in a hoarse voice.

Lena's eyes widened, obviously surprised.

"You don't have to–"

"Yes, I do," he cut her off firmly.

They stared at each other for a few more seconds before Lena finally smiled, walking over to him and grabbing his hand in her own. She intertwined their fingers as she led him over to the couch. They sat down, Lena pulling her knees up to her chest as she turned to face him.

Clint propped his elbows on his knees and placing his head in his hands as he took a few deep breaths. Where was he even supposed to start? He dropped his hands and stared at the wall ahead of him. He didn't know if he could do this – relive the past. He didn't want to lose that look that Lena gave him every time he stepped into the room. He wanted her to believe he was a better person than he really was for just a little bit longer.

Suddenly though, Clint felt a slight pressure on his hand that he had unknowingly curled into a fist on top of his knee. He looked over to see Lena gently touching him, an encouraging smile on her face.

"It's okay," she said softly. Clint's entire body relaxed and he loosened his hand. Lena placed her palm in his, allowing him to squeeze it as if he could somehow absorb the strength that she was offering him.

"When I was a kid," Clint finally began, his voice cracking in a lack of confidence, "My brother Barney took care of me. He was six years older than me. Our parents were deadbeats. My dad got into a car crash when he was driving drunk, and my mom hung herself a week later. I was four years old."

Lena took a deep, shaky breath at the mere thought of a little four year old boy with messy blonde hair, walking in on his mother spinning from the ceiling with a noose around her neck. She remained silent though.

"I can't remember it, which is a good thing I guess," Clint continued, his voice low. "But Barney could. He'd always get this pained look on his face whenever I asked about them, so eventually I just stopped asking." He paused again for a few seconds. "We went into foster care, always making sure to stay together no matter what. That was me and Barney for you, nobody could separate us," he said with a small, nostalgic smile. "We bounced around between families for a while, but when I was 10 and Barney was 16, we got stuck somewhere really bad. I won't tell you the details, but… Barney knew we had to get out of there. We ran away one night with nothing but the clothes on our back. We were homeless. Street rats, really. I learned how to pickpocket, and steal stuff from the markets. It always made me sick to do it, but being hungry made me sicker."

"Clint," Lena whispered. "You don't have to–"

"No, let me finish. A few months later it was getting close to winter, and me and Barney were both afraid that we wouldn't make it if it snowed. But then one day this train stopped off at the railroad tracks we had been sleeping near. It was a circus – a freak show, really. One of the carnies, the bearded lady actually, she found the two of us trying to sneak some food. Instead of beating us senseless and sending us off, she took us in. Barney and I got jobs, little odd chores here and there like taking care of the animals, helping with set up and tear down, that kind of thing. It was a good gig. We slept on the trains with the other workers, we had food, we had a weird little family, and we had each other. It all worked out great."

Clint paused, getting a faraway look on his face as his mind took him back to his childhood.

"Things stayed like that for about two years, but then the circus hired on this guy named Trickshot." He laughed, looking down at his hands. "Trickshot was one crazy son of a bitch. I practically worshiped the man, I would follow him around and ask him all kinds of questions. I was a pest really, but he didn't seem to mind. He never told me his real name though," he said as an afterthought, pursing his lips.

"Trickshot was a master at archery," he continued. "He taught me everything I know. When I was 14 he started letting me in on his shows. We always had a huge turnout. Barney tried his hand too, but he wasn't as good as I was."

Lena smiled as she thought about pimply faced teenage Clint learning how to shoot a bow, spending day and night practicing to be the best that he could be.

"I got better every day, and eventually I was just as good as Trickshot, maybe even better. But then…" he trailed off, having to take a few deep breaths. "But then I wasn't just shooting in the shows. When I was 17, Trickshot started letting me go with him and some of the others – including Barney – on his little nighttime excursions. We were doing wrong by people, there's no other way to put it," he admitted, glancing at Lena for just a brief second in shame. "Stealing shit and stuff like that. I did it for 2 years, thinking it was fine since nobody ever got really hurt. But then it started to get… it started to get twisted."

"How?" Lena asked.

"Some guy had double crossed Trickshot. What the poor bastard did, I don't know. I never asked. We went out one night and I thought we were just going to scare the guy into giving Trickshot his money back, but then he mouthed off. Next thing I know, Trickshot's shooting an arrow in between his eyes."

Lena flinched and Clint glanced at her guiltily.

"I had no idea he was going to… I didn't know that's how it was going to go down. I flipped my shit, went off on Trickshot. I'd spent 7 years looking up to that man just for him to turn out to be a killer. I was in a rage, went after him with my bare hands. But then… but then Barney stopped me. Started screaming at me that I should be grateful, and stop trying to play the hero. I punched him, we started to grapple and then I…"

Clint stopped, his body going completely rigid. He paused for several seconds, his entire body language revealing his shame, regret, and anger.

"I shot him," Clint finally deadpanned, his voice showing none of the multitude of emotions he was feeling. "I freaked out, grabbed my bow, and then I shot an arrow right into my brother's chest."

Lena had no words. She didn't know what to say, unable to provide him with any words of encouragement or comfort.

"I killed my brother," Clint whispered painfully. "I killed the only person who had ever been there for me through thick and thin." He paused again. "Needless to say, the rest of our little posse came after me. Long story short, I got the hell out of dodge. Over the next year I went rogue, tried to be some sort of punk vigilante or something like that. Tried to do good, but ended up doing bad. Which is basically a metaphor for my life at this point," he muttered bitterly. "I was 20 when Coulson found me. He saw something in me, I don't know what. He took me in and sent my punk ass to the academy. I worked my way up through the ranks by doing my job and doing it well. SHIELD became a new home for me."

He smiled then, chuckling to himself. "And then one day I got sent out to New Mexico to check out this weird ass hammer and then this girl fell from the sky. You know the rest."

Clint smiled – albeit sadly – down at where he was still holding onto Lena's hand. He noticed that she was being oddly quiet and his eyes trailed up her arm and to her face.

"Ah, shit," Clint whispered when he saw the tears on Lena's face and the terrible expression on her face. "I didn't… shit Lena, don't cry," he begged, scooting closer to her and placing his hands on her face, wiping the tears away.

"No, don't be sorry," Lena said with a gasp, finally allowing herself to show her emotions now that he was done sharing his story. "Don't be – please don't be sorry. If anyone should be sorry, it should be me," she said incredulously.

"What? Why?"

"I made you – I made you relive all of that," she gasped out, frustrated at herself for crying the way that she was. Clint was still holding her face and looking downright terrified at her tears. She finally blinked away the blurriness and looked up at him, her eyes meeting his.

Clint froze under her gaze. There it was. The look that she was giving him wasn't the look that he had gotten used to, the look that he loved to receive from her. His biggest fear was coming true – she was seeing him for the murderer that he was.

Clint sighed sadly. "I knew this would change things," he murmured, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Lena," he said quickly, jumping up from the couch and heading for the door.

Lena was frozen in shock for a brief moment before she jumped up as well.

"You're right!" She shouted, stopping Clint in his tracks. He stood with his hand on the door handle, his back to her. "You're right, Clint," she said in a softer voice. "Things have changed now." Clint's body went even more rigid. "By being honest with me the way that you were… you've changed the way I look at you. Now I don't just see another agent, and I don't just see my friend." She began to walk over to him slowly. "I see beyond that, Clint," she whispered.

Lena reached him a few seconds later, but he was still standing in the same position. She couldn't see his face, so she couldn't see the tears threatening to spill over from his eyes.

"I see you for who you really are, Clint," Lena said softly.

"And who is that?" Clint whirled around on her, his voice raised. Lena didn't shrink back though, she stood firm. "The real me, who is that? I'm a murderer, Lena!" He shouted. "I killed my own brother!"

"If you hadn't killed him he would have killed you," Lena said without a moment of hesitation.

"You can't possibly know that," Clint scoffed, looking away.

"I do know that because I know _you_."

"I was a different person then."

"No you weren't," Lena said. "You were the same person then that you are right now. You were a good man," she placed her hand on Clint's cheek and he tried to jerk away but she wouldn't let him. "You _are_ a good man, Clint Barton. That's why you were so distraught when Trickshot killed someone. That's what Coulson saw in you. That's why you gave me a chance with SHIELD."

"Lena–"

"Things have changed, Clint. I see more goodness in you than I originally thought was there. But beyond that, my feelings for you have changed as well." She paused, smiling up at him. "They're stronger."

Clint could do nothing but stare down at Lena. Wonderful, pure, kind-hearted Lena. If she above anyone else saw goodness in him, accepted him, and wanted him despite everything he had done… didn't that matter more than anything else?

"What are you doing to me?" Clint whispered.

His eyes bored into Lena's and reveled in the affection he saw there. Nobody had ever looked at him the way she was at that moment. He had been scared that it was disgust, or revulsion, but he saw now that it wasn't that at all. It was warmth. It wasn't love, not quite yet, but it was close.

"I've never felt this way before," he continued, "And then you come along and I… I'm addicted to you, Lena. I can't stay away."

Lena stared up at Clint and said two simple words that would intertwine their lives together through all sorts of conflicts across all the realms simply because two hearts were made to take care of one another.

"Then don't."

Clint waited for exactly one split second before grabbing Lena's face in his hands and crushing his lips to hers. Lena melted against him, standing up on her tiptoes to meet his height and wrapping her arms around his neck to press her body further against his.

Clint groaned, the sound coming from deep in his diaphragm. He dropped one arm to wrap around Lena's waist as he turned and pressed her back against the door. Lena gasped, and Clint took that opportunity to deepen the kiss, his hips flexing into hers. Lena's entire body shuddered, arousal clouding every other rational thought in her mind. All she could think about was Clint – his hands, his body, his mouth. She wanted every single inch of him.

Clint reached down and hoisted Lena up and into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist without ever tearing his lips from hers. His tongue worked wonders in her mouth as his calloused fingers dug into her hips as her shirt rode up her back.

"Clint," Lena whispered against his mouth, her deep, husky voice doing things to Clint's body he didn't even know was possible. "Please, Clint. I need you."

Clint pulled his lips away just far enough to look into Lena's eyes. The blue-green orbs were glazed over, looking at him the way everyone wants to be looked at.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"I've never been surer of anything in my life," she said softly, rubbing the pad of her thumb over his swollen bottom lip. "I want you. Only you."

Clint stared up at her for a few seconds before smiling, leaning back in to press his lips to hers. He had known that kissing Lena would become an addiction, but he knew now that this addiction would be the best damn thing that could ever happen to him. He just couldn't believe he had wasted so much time being an idiot that had let his fears consume him.

Without another word spoken between them because their bodies were saying everything that needed to be said, Clint carried Lena to her bedroom. And in that small bedroom on Halloween night, two hearts that the universe had destined to be together from the very beginning connected in the most beautiful possible way.

**xXxXx**

**A/N: Sooooo that just happened! Major ClintxLena action and YAY! THEY'RE FINALLY TOGETHER! How did you guys like that? Do you think it will last? Leave me a review and send in your predictions! **

**(By the way, I took some liberties with Clint's backstory that is similar to the comics, but obviously have my own spin on them. Just wanted to clarify)**

**(By the way again, we have a familiar face coming back up in the next couple of chapters, so if you leave a review and guess correctly at who it will be, I'll give you a shoutout. Guess, guess, guess! Review, review, review!) **


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**A/N: GUYS WE REACHED 50 REVIEWS! This is unbelievable to me, I'm honestly so grateful. This story means a lot to me and it's a great outlet, so I'm privileged to know that you guys actually enjoy it and are willing to spend time to leave your reviews, so thank you. **

**In regards to the challenge I issued at the end of last chapter, I'm leaving the usernames of the people who guessed correctly at the new character(s) showing up in this chapter in the ending author's note, make sure to check them out! **

**xXxXx**

Lena woke up slowly as the sunlight began to stream into her bedroom. She took a deep breath, opening her eyes unhurriedly. She began to stretch out her limbs, wincing at the aching in her joints when suddenly her foot touched someone else's leg.

She rolled over, a lazy smile crossing her face when she saw Clint lying there, his bare chest rising up and down with each breath he took. She scooted closer to his sleeping form, careful not to wake him as she slowly ran her fingers across his chest.

Last night had been everything Lena had imagined and then more. They had taken their time, worshipped each other's bodies, moved against one another as if they would never have another night together. Neither of them had ever been so incredibly intimate with someone, their bodies and souls connecting in ways they didn't know were possible. They didn't know sex could be that good or that it could be more than having a warm body to lose their self in at night. But boy had they both been wrong.

Lena's eyes traced every inch of Clint's face, memorizing it as if she might never see him again. He looked more relaxed than she had ever seen him, more open and vulnerable and trusting. She smiled to herself as she thought about just how much he trusted her to have shared everything he had with her the night before. It was a bit overwhelming.

Her fingers danced over the skin on his muscular chest, looking at the various scars that littered it and wondering where they were from. Her fingers traced over a small white line just under his collar bone that was barely an inch across.

"Shrapnel."

Lena jumped as Clint spoke unexpectedly. She rolled her eyes as he chuckled at her reaction, his shoulders shaking up and down. He opened his eyes and rubbed the sleep out of them before looking down at her.

"Didn't know I was awake while you were staring at me all creepy, did you?"

"I wasn't being creepy," Lena remarked, trying to ignore how sexy his morning voice was. "I was merely being observant. What did you say though?"

Clint inhaled deeply, pushing himself up to sit back against the headboard, pulling Lena back against his chest. He smiled down at her, his eyes trailing over her naked body that was hidden under the blue sheets. The body that he had kissed, caressed, and explored all night.

"I said shrapnel," he answered, running her hands through her hair. "That scar you were looking at, I got it in Pakistan a couple years ago. I was wearing armor, but there's always that one little piece of shrapnel that gets you." He shrugged nonchalantly.

Lena nodded, pursing her lips together. She looked back down at his chest, running her hands over the skin there and grinning slightly when he shivered.

"What about this one?" She tapped on the raised pink tissue that was in the shape of a circle under his left pectoral muscle.

"This punk I was in a foster home with had a fascination with cigarettes."

Lena flinched, but continued scanning his body. "This one?" She ran her finger over the skin just above his right hip, making him flinch away from her.

"That tickles," he chuckled, "That one was in Rome about a year ago. Nat and I were on a mission together and I made a stupid call. We got caught in some crossfire. Bullet went through and through."

"And this one?" Lena reached across him and ran her hand over the longest scar she had seen, about four inches long just to the right of his bellybutton.

Clint was silent, and Lena could feel his body tense up.

"That one is from Barney," he finally said monotonously. "Right before I… he caught me with his knife. Always had a thing for knives, my brother."

Lena looked up at him with a sad expression, and he took a deep breath before forcing a smile and meeting her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Lena whispered.

"Don't be," Clint assured her, shaking his head. "It's in the past. I can't change it, and I think I've finally accepted it. I have you to thank for that," he smiled more genuinely, leaning down and pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead. "What about you?" He asked suddenly. "I don't think I've seen any scars on you."

"That's because I don't have any," Lena said with a sigh. "Asgardians bodies heal differently, so I've never had to deal with scars."

"Ah, so that explains the perfect skin," Clint murmured as he ran his hand down slowly over her arm, making goose bumps appear and Lena shiver.

"So last night," Lena said a moment later, looking up into Clint's eyes with a sly grin. "That was… something."

"Only something?" Clint teased. "Oh come on, I think I deserve more credit than that."

Lena laughed, slinging one leg over Clint so that she was straddling him. His eyes glinted mischievously as he gripped her hips tightly.

"Okay so it was a bit more than something," Lena said in a low, husky voice as she leaned down and pressed her lips against Clint's.

Clint sighed at the contact, wrapping his arms around Lena's back and crushing her chest against his, the sheet falling away.

"Are you too tired for a repeat?" Lena asked against his mouth.

Clint took a shaky breath as her lips moved hotly against his, shaking his head from side to side as he tangled his fingers in her hair.

"Oh hell no," he breathed out as he flipped her over onto her back and began to worship her body all over again.

**xXxXx**

"So you're saying you can't cook anything but scrambled eggs?" Clint asked incredulously as he moved around Lena's small kitchen, his eyes constantly glancing over at her bare legs exposed by his flannel that she was currently wearing and had only buttoned haphazardly.

"I mean I can cook _some_ things," Lena said matter-of-factly as she stirred the eggs. "Just not very well. But scrambled eggs are my specialty," she glanced over at him teasingly, her gaze trailing over his bare-chested form and the blue jeans that hugged his hips in all the right ways.

"Well lucky for you," Clint grinned as he reached over her with one hand to sprinkle some salt on her eggs and pinched her hip with his other hand. Lena yelped and whirled on him. "I am a brilliant cook."

"Lucky me," Lena smiled, stretching up on her tiptoes and pressing her lips to Clint's chastely. He smiled against her mouth, his mind taking him back to the dream he had had about Lena in Dubai just days ago. Now that dream had become somewhat a reality – except for the dog. Maybe they could work on that.

Over the next few minutes they made breakfast together, laughing and teasing each other as they moved about the small kitchen, Clint admittedly doing most of the work.

"So I have a question," Lena said as they were finishing up their breakfast a few minutes later. Clint looked up at her with curious eyes as he shoveled the last bite of his food into his mouth. Lena took a deep breath, pulling her legs up crisscross in the chair. "Last night, was it… I mean I guess what I'm trying to ask is if we're… You and I, are we–"

"Lena," Clint interrupted, reaching over and taking Lena's fidgeting hands in his own. She let out a breath of frustration and looked up into his serious eyes that were boring into her own. "Last night wasn't just a one-time thing," he said firmly. "At least I don't want it to be."

"I don't want it to be either," Lena said softly.

Clint smiled, her words making his heart soar. "I know this might be moving kind of quick and all, but…" Clint took a deep breath. "If you'll have me, Lena, I'm yours. Completely."

The corners of Lena's mouth quirked upward in a grin as she nodded. "I'll have you," she said softly.

Clint smiled warmly, but then it turned into a mischievous smirk. "Well technically you already had me last night, so–"

"Oh shutup," Lena muttered, standing up and walking over to sit in his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately, one of her hands trailing over his cheek and across his jawline.

Clint smiled into the kiss and as they pulled away. He looked up at Lena in awe. She was his and he was hers now, no more tiptoeing around each other's feelings. It was real.

He turned his head to the side and pressed his lips against Lena's palm, making her giggle.

"What's this bracelet you always wear?" He asked suddenly, raising his hand to run his fingers over the white rope-like bracelet encircling her wrist. "I've never seen you take it off."

"It was my mother's," Lena answered. "She died right after I was born, I'm sure you read that in my file." Clint nodded. "Apparently before she died, she left this bracelet in a safety deposit box with specific instructions that only me or my uncle could open it. Zeke gave it to me for my 18th birthday, the same day he…" she stopped painfully as the memory of Zeke's death came rushing back to her.

Clint didn't say anything for a few seconds, choosing instead to knit his fingers with Lena's, squeezing her hand gently.

"There's still so much I don't know about you," he said lowly.

Lena inhaled deeply and looked down at him, the brightness returning to her eyes as she observed the way he seemed to look at her in awe.

"Likewise," she said. "How about you ask me whatever you want to know and I'll do the same for you."

Clint grinned. "Deal."

"Thank goodness," Lena murmured as she reached over and took Clint's glass of orange juice, raising it to her lips. "Because thanks to Natasha I have _got_ to know what happened in Budapest."

**xXxXx**

"So let's just review the main points," Clint said as he held onto Lena's hand tightly as they walked through the streets of DC an hour later. "You want to travel more around the earth, you've been to three of the nine realms, and you hate cheesy romance and would much rather go out adventuring than go to dinner and a movie." He looked over and raised an eyebrow at Lena. "Did I get those right?"

Lena grinned, leaning her body further into his as the wind whipped around them. "Yeah, those are the big things. Meanwhile you," she hip-checked him and made him laugh, "You have named every single bow you've ever owned, you thought you had feelings for Natasha once upon a time but now that's just weird to think about, you love '80's movies, and you know every word to every Journey song ever written."

"That's Clint Barton in a nutshell," Clint sighed as they began to walk through Stanton Park.

"You mean Clinton Francis Barton?" Lena teased, making Clint sigh and roll his eyes.

"I knew that was going to bite me in the ass," he muttered under his breath. Lena only laughed harder and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek before letting go of his hand and briskly walking ahead of him.

Clint watched her with a fond smile as she made her way over to a small patch of grass before laying down the blanket they had brought. She looked over her shoulder at him with a smile and in that moment, Clint Barton couldn't believe just how lucky he was.

"Well come on," Lena called out to him, "Quit standing there like a weird-o and get over here."

Clint chuckled. "Yes ma'am," he said as he made his way over, sitting down next to Lena on the blanket. The park wasn't very busy, just a few kids playing on the playground and other couples like them enjoying the cool but not yet cold weather.

_Couples like us_, Clint thought to himself. _I don't think there's any couples quite like us_.

Lena scooted over and placed her head on Clint's chest as they both laid back to stare up at the cloudy sky. They didn't say anything for a few moments, but it wasn't an awkward silence.

"We have to go back to work tomorrow," Lena said.

Clint made a sound of agreement, his chest moving underneath Lena's head.

"I don't think we should tell anyone about us for a while," Lena finally said the words that had been bouncing around in her head all morning. She felt Clint whip his head down to look at her.

"What?" He asked incredulously.

Lena sighed, sitting up and crossing her legs as she looked at him. Clint propped himself up on his forearms and looked at her curiously – and also a bit hurt.

"It's not that I don't want people to know we're together," she explained. "It's just that… I don't want to be that girl that everyone thinks only became an agent because she's sleeping with her handler."

"Nobody's going to think that," Clint tried to reassure her.

"Yes they are," she said immediately.

Clint rolled his eyes. "Okay so maybe _some_ people will think that. But who cares? It's just talk."

"I care, Clint," Lena said firmly. "Being a SHIELD agent is really important to me, and I don't want anyone thinking that I got the position for the wrong reasons." She paused for a few seconds. "Look, it's not going to be a permanent thing. I just think that for the first couple weeks if we're going to tell people it should only be a handful of the ones we trust. Like Nat, and Coulson, and Fitzsimmons."

Clint sighed, sitting all the way up and running his hands over his face. "I just want everyone to know that you're mine," he said softly, reaching over and taking Lena's hand in his own.

Lena rolled her eyes. "Okay, another thing you need to know about me is that I don't do the whole possessive thing well. I might be yours, but I'm also my own person first and foremost, okay?"

Clint smiled, a look of surprise and slight admiration in his eyes. "Sorry. Duly noted," he said genuinely. Lena smiled appreciatively. "Alright fine, we can do the whole secret relationship thing for a while," he conceded. "Who knows, secret make out sessions in broom closets could be hot."

"Oh shutup," Lena muttered, placing her hand on his chest and pushing him backwards. She shrieked as he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down with him, the both of them laughing loudly without a care in the world.

Clint touched his hand to Lena's cheek and pulled her in for a kiss, their lips moving together as if they were specifically designed for each other. The kiss lasted several seconds, but they broke apart before it could get too heated, both of them breathing heavily.

"I'm scared," Lena breathed, her breath hot against Clint's mouth.

"Of what?"

"That this is too good to be true," she admitted, looking up from under her long eyelashes up into his green eyes, dark from their kissing. "That it won't last."

"That won't happen," Clint said firmly without a second of hesitation. "I won't let it happen, okay? You and me? We're going to last. I swear it." He raised his hand and pushed her hair back away from her face gently. "I don't know what I would do without you at this point."

"Me neither," Lena whispered.

"We'll take whatever comes our way, alright?" Clint asked. "Together."

Lena smiled. "Together."

They kissed again, more sweetly than before, each of them pouring their emotions into the intimate moment.

If only they had known then just what they would be facing in the weeks to come, perhaps they would have savored that moment just a little bit more.

**xXxXx**

**THREE WEEKS LATER**

"The man is infuriating," Lena remarked as she and Director Fury walked into SHIELD HQ in DC, both of them a bit tired from their three day trip to Malibu, California.

"I think that's an understatement," Fury replied.

"He's arrogant, narcissistic, and not to mention he has _no_ desire to play by the rules," she continued as they stepped inside the building, Fury walking them right through security.

"Again, understatement," Fury glanced at her out of the corner of his one good eye.

"However, despite all of that," Lena paused, taking a deep breath, "I think he has amazing potential with the Avengers Initiative," she said honestly. "Tony Stark has the makings in him to be a real leader. He'll butt heads with the rest of the team for sure, but overall I think he's a great choice."

"Yeah you two did seem to hit it off pretty well," Fury remarked with an eyebrow waggle. Lena rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, he told me that he needed to join SHIELD just so he could see me and Natasha spar because it would be, 'like booty boot camp on steroids.'" She recalled one of the first things Tony Stark had said to her. "Then he asked if my staff was some sort of electronic sex toy he hadn't read about yet."

Fury laughed, which was a rare occurrence. A few of the other agents around them looking on curiously.

"Yeah, I think you two will get along great," Fury said sarcastically, stepping into the elevator that led to his office. Lena stood on the other side of the doors and chuckled.

"I still can't believe you think I'm a good pick for the Avengers Initiative," she said honestly. "I haven't even been an agent for a month, sir."

"That doesn't matter. You're dedicated and loyal, not to mention I got recommendations from both Romanoff and Barton. But I'm sure the latter doesn't surprise you at all, does it Miss Sullivan?"

Lena's eyes widened at his choice of words. "Sir?" She asked, her voice cracking.

Fury laughed. "Oh come on now Miss Sullivan. I may only have one eye, but I'm not blind."

Lena just stood there with her mouth open slightly as Fury continued to laugh, the elevator doors closing and Fury disappearing from sight.

_Fury knows_? Lena thought to herself incredulously. The past three weeks she and Clint had been so careful to keep their relationship under wraps, but had they really been that obvious? Or perhaps Fury was just uncannily observant.

Lena walked to the other set of elevators slowly, trying to figure out how they had given it away. Clint had been gone for the past week checking out a situation in New York that Fury had come back early from. He had immediately called Lena saying he wanted her to fly out to Malibu to help him recruit Tony Stark for the Avengers Initiative (again). Fortunately, they had actually gotten him to agree that time – mostly thanks to Lena (Stark was fascinated by the fact that she was, in his words, 'a hot half-alien').

This was the same Avengers Initiative that Lena, Clint, and Natasha had all been recruited for just two weeks prior. It was still surreal to her – that she was going to be a part of a team of such extraordinary people – and they were still recruiting. Coulson had also told her that if Thor ever ended his radio silence he was to be brought on as well, and Lena knew her brother would accept in a heartbeat.

Before she could dwell on that any longer, Lena's phone buzzed as she boarded the elevator. She pulled it out of her back pocket, grinning when she saw that it was a text from Clint.

'_Honey, I'm home_,' it read.

Lena chuckled and rolled her eyes. He must have just gotten back to HQ as well. The elevator dinged and she got off on the third floor. She was in the middle of texting Clint back and walking towards Fitzsimmons' lab when someone grabbed her by the arm and yanked her inside a room.

Lena dropped her phone, spinning on her heel to lash out whoever had grabbed her, darkness enveloping her as the door was shut behind them. She heard someone grunt as her fist made blind contact with what felt like a shoulder, and then her wrist was caught in their grip.

"It's me, it's me!" The person shouted, and Lena froze.

"Clint?" She asked incredulously. She used her other hand to feel for a light switch and flipped it on as soon as she found it.

"Ow," Clint whined as he let go of Lena's wrist and rubbed his now sore shoulder. "What the hell did you hit me for?" He asked.

"You can't just grab someone and yank them inside a…" she looked around, "Really, Clint? A broom closet?"

Clint grinned, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I told you it could be hot."

"You're incorrigible," Lena muttered, albeit with a smile. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Clint's neck, pressing her lips to his hard.

Clint groaned, his hands landing on Lena's waist and pressing her back into the door. They made out heavily for several minutes, hands trailing over each other's bodies as if just seven days apart had been like years without seeing or touching one another.

"I missed you so much," Clint murmured as he left a trail of hot, wet kisses down Lena's neck.

Lena exhaled shakily, her eyes fluttering shut as she craned her head to the side to allow him more access. Her whole body quivered as his hands laid flat on her toned stomach where he had pushed her black tank top up to her chest.

Lena lifted Clint's face back up to hers, bringing their mouths together hotly. Their breathing was ragged, not even a breath of space between their bodies.

"I missed you too," she whispered against his mouth. "More than you know."

Clint pulled back a few seconds later, resting their foreheads together as they caught their breath.

"I wish we didn't have to hide," he said.

"Yeah," Lena chuckled, "About that. Fury knows."

Clint jerked back, looking down at her in surprise. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Fury knows about us."

"No he doesn't."

"Yes he does."

"You're lying."

"I am not!" Lena shouted with a grin, highly amused by Clint's incredulity. "He totally knows."

"How? Did Nat tell him? Or Coulson? I swear if Fitz or Simmons ran their mouth I'll–"

"You won't do anything to Fitz or Simmons or you'll have me to deal with," Lena said with narrowed eyes. "But in all seriousness I think Fury just figured it out on his own. I mean, we do have natural chemistry and all that."

"You can say that again," Clint murmured with a grin as he leaned down and captured Lena's lips again. Lena sighed into the kiss, curling her hand into the front of his shirt.

"How was New York?" Lena gasped as they broke away.

"It was… interesting," Clint replied, catching his own breath. "Did you hear why I went up there?"

Lena shook her head. "No, but it had Coulson antsy as hell. What was it?"

Clint smirked. "They found Captain America."

"What?" Lena asked incredulously. "Captain America? Seriously? As in the World War II science experiment Captain America that crashed his plane into the Arctic and was never found again? _That_ Captain America?"

"Yepp, that one," Clint nodded. "They fished him out of the ice, then found out the guy was still alive."

"No!" Lena shouted in disbelief, her jaw dropped.

"Seriously," Clint told her. "They thawed him out and he was still in perfect health. Been in the ice for almost seventy years and came out in better shape than me."

"That's unbelievable," Lena whispered in shock. "So what are they going to do with him?"

"He's a part of the Avengers Initiative now as far as I know. SHIELD was created in his honor, I'm sure he'll take some sort of leadership position, and the Avengers is the best place for him in my opinion. In Fury's opinion, too."

"Woah. That's amazing."

"What about you though?" Clint asked. "How was Malibu and Tony Stark?" He asked bitterly.

Lena looked up at him with a sly grin, craning her neck back to catch his eyes. "Jealous much, Mr. Barton?"

"Jealous of one of the richest and smartest men in the world getting to spend time with my girlfriend?" Clint asked sarcastically. "Why would I be jealous of that?"

Lena sighed, standing up on her tiptoes to meet his eyes. "I don't know," she said softly, "Because quite frankly, I've got the best guy in the whole world right in front of me. And I'll take a broom closet with you over a Ferrari with Tony Stark any day."

Clint smiled, genuinely relieved at her words. "Well that's good to hear. But really, how was he?"

Lena sighed, rolling her eyes. "Arrogant. He's brilliant and SHIELD wants him bad, but he knows that so he uses it to fuel his ego. But overall, I like him. He'll be good for the Avengers. Well actually, the Avengers will be good for him. We got along pretty well."

"Good," Clint said, catching a flicker of some emotion behind Lena's eyes that he couldn't make out. "Are you okay?" He asked. "You've seemed a little… off for the past couple weeks. Is everything alright?'

"I'm fine," Lena smiled, hoping that Clint was fooled by her lie. "I'm just a bit tired, I guess. I've been training a lot and then dealing with Tony Stark just wore me out." Clint still looked suspicious and she hurried to say, "And I missed you, too. It's hard to sleep alone when you get used to sleeping beside someone."

Clint didn't react for a moment, but then he smiled, seeming to believe her. "Well I'm here now," he smiled, lifting her chin with his index fingers and pressing his lips to hers. "You would tell me if something were wrong though, right?"

"Of course."

The lie tasted bitter and vile on Lena's tongue.

"Okay, good. Well I've gotta run, debriefing started five minutes ago."

"Clint," Lena scolded.

"I'll see you later, Sparkstrike," he said quickly, kissing her one more time before opening the door behind them and rushing out into the empty hallway. Lena watched him leave with a fond smile.

"Yeah, I'll see you later, Hawkeye," she said quietly.

The smile slips from her face as she thought about how she had lied to Clint when he asked her if she was okay. That was the first time she had ever lied to him and she felt disgusting and dirty for doing it. But she couldn't tell him the truth.

She couldn't tell him that she was miserable and on the verge of being all out depressed. She was thrilled to be working with SHIELD and helping jumpstart the Avengers Initiative, but all she could think about lately was Asgard.

It had been three months since New Mexico. Three months since Thor had gone back to Asgard with Sif and the Warriors Three with a promise to be back soon. Lena had called Jane Foster probably twenty times in just the past few weeks searching for something – _anything_ that could give her some assurance that her brother and her friends were okay. Because for all she knew they could be dead and she would have no idea.

_Don't think that way_, Lena scolded herself, blinking rapidly as she headed down the hallway for the stairwell. She slowed down as she passed Fitzsimmons' lab, thinking that maybe she could talk to them about what she was feeling, but then thought better of it and started heading for the roof. Maybe she could think more clearly up there.

As she reached the roof, Lena took a deep breath of the DC air. She let the door close behind her and walked over near the edge to look out at the city below, smiling sadly. It was beautiful, but no skyline would ever measure up to the way Asgard looked from the Bifrost.

Lena looked up at the sky. Dusk was falling as she envisioned Asgard, feeling a sharp pain in her chest as she realized it was getting harder to remember that distinct shine the realm had to it.

The last thing Lena knew about what was happening back in Asgard was that her father had fallen into the Odinsleep, Loki had turned evil out of seemingly nowhere and tried to kill their brother, and Thor and the others had gone back to stop him. But Lena had no idea if they had even succeeded, or if Odin had ever woken up.

And beyond the frustration of not knowing what was happening, Lena missed everyone terribly. She missed Odin trying and sometimes failing to understand her. She missed Frigga's kind words of wisdom. She missed Sif helping her train, Volstagg offering her new foods to try, Fandral asking her how his hair looked, and Hogun's silent smiles whenever she teased him. She missed Thor picking her up in bear hugs, spinning her around and saying he was so glad to finally have a sister.

And she missed Heimdall. Her friend, the gatekeeper, her guardian angel that had watched over her since she was a baby. Over the past few weeks Lena had called out to him countless times, but she had yet to receive a response and it was slowly killing her.

"Heimdall," she cried out softly, her voice cracking as she stared up at the sky, "Heimdall, please. Show me something – anything. Give me a sign. Show me that my friends and family are safe, that I'm not being forgotten. Show me that you're not…" she stopped, unable to finish her thought as she choked up and furiously wiped her eyes.

Lena bit down hard on her lip and crossed her arms over her chest as if that would somehow hold her breaking heart together, squinting her eyes shut and lowering her head to let the tears fall freely. A few seconds passed and she raised her head back up to the sky, seeing a few stars beginning to emerge.

"Please," she whispered. "Give me a sign. I beg of you."

"Careful what you wish for."

Lena whirled around at the eerily familiar voice, her ears ringing. She inhaled sharply, her eyes widening in complete and total shock.

"Loki?" She whispered with a breath of disbelief.

Loki smirked evilly, his long black hair making him look even paler than usual from where he stood just a few feet in front of her.

"Hello there, sister."

Lena didn't even have time to scream as he wrapped his fingers around her throat.

**xXxXx**

**A/N: Shoutout to users Quyiken, Luna Uchiha666, and Muirgen79! You guys guessed correctly about Loki being in this chapter, and also Steve. You guys rock, thanks for your support! **

**What do you guys think is going to happen next? Leave a review! **


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**A/N: This is the last chapter of original storyline before we move into the Avengers Assemble movie plot (YAY!) and a LOT happens in this chapter, so make sure to leave a review about all the craziness. **

**Oh and also, I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed as a guest that I am unable to respond to. Your support DOES NOT go unnoticed, and I am very grateful :) Enjoy this chapter! **

**xXxXx**

"Loki," Lena choked out as her brother's long, slender fingers wrapped around her throat, slowly crushing her windpipe. Her feet dangled inches from the ground and she held onto his wrists trying to pry his hands away from her as she struggled for oxygen. "What… are you… doing?"

"Oh little Lena, how I have missed you," Loki sneered, his upper lip curling into an evil smirk as Lena continued to try and free herself pathetically. "I've waited a while for this opportunity. I should have killed you the second that oaf of a gatekeeper brought you into Asgard."

Lena gasped, taking short breaths of what little air was able to reach her lungs. Her face was slowly turning purple as her throat was crushed.

"What are you… talking about?" She wheezed, "Please, Loki… you're my… brother. Don't–"

"I'm no brother of yours, you little twit," Loki snapped, turning and throwing her to the ground away from him.

Lena crashed to the cement of the rooftop, falling on her side and jarring her knees. She breathed deeper than ever before, inhaling as much oxygen as she could possibly muster. Her windpipe burned as she coughed and spluttered.

"What do you… mean?" Lena asked as she tried to breathe normally, turning her head to look at Loki, her hair covering one side of her face. "Loki, you can't think that–"

"I don't _think_ anything," Loki spat, looking down at where she lay on the ground in disgust. "We share no relation, Midgardian. I am _not_ your brother. Nor Thor's. To be more precise, I'm not even Asgardian."

Lena continued to breathe deeply as she looked up at him in confusion. She noted that his hair was longer, his skin paler, and his eyes looked angry, tired, and full of pain. What had _happened_ to him?

"Loki you have to tell me what you're talking about," Lena begged.

Loki smirked evilly. "Why don't I just show you?"

With those words, Loki extended his arm, and Lena watched in horror as his hand turned the same color blue as the Frost Giants' she remembered so vividly. Her horror turned to complete and utter terror when she looked back up to Loki's face to see that his entire body was blue, his eyes the same color red as the monsters who had tried to kill her on Jotunheim what felt like ages ago.

"Oh my god," Lena gasped, scrambling backwards away from him in fright. "You're a–"

"Monster?" Loki asked in a low voice, his skin slowly returning to the color it had been before. "Why yes, I am actually. It's nice that you can see it now you little mundane human."

Lena's horror turned to anger as she struggled to pull herself up to a standing position, her lungs still burning.

"The color of your skin doesn't make you a monster," she snapped. "And even though I'm still really damn confused about who the hell you are and your parents are, I can say for certain that the only reason _I_ find you a monster is because you tried to kill Thor!" She screamed, Loki raising his eyebrows at her in amusement which only frustrated her more. "You tried to destroy the family that loved you unconditionally!"

"Unconditionally?" Loki echoed incredulously, stalking towards her with a menacing look. Lena took a step backwards away from him, reaching for her staff on her weapons belt only to find that Loki was holding it in his hand arrogantly. He laughed. "Oh please. Surely even you can't be so naïve. I was not loved unconditionally and neither were you, _sister_," he mocked. "If they loved you the way you believe they do, why would Thor have willingly destroyed the Bifrost and left you stranded here?"

Lena froze, her heart seeming to stop completely.

"What?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Her pain was written all over her face. "The Bifrost is… gone?" She choked out.

"Yes," Loki sneered. "Now you're stuck here on your precious Earth, left alone without any true family to call your own. Perhaps if I had killed you sooner, this little realm might be a bit better off, wouldn't you say?"

Lena let out a scream of frustration and extended her hand to her staff. Gríðarvölr sailed out of Loki's hand and into her outstretched palm over the course of a mere second. Loki only chuckled as she raised the weapon above her head, a murderous expression on her face.

"I'm going to kill you," she said darkly, her voice taking on a tone she herself had never even heard before. "I'm going to make your head come clean off your shoulders for what you have done."

"What _I_ have done?" Loki taunted, laughing. "Lena dear, you haven't even heard the whole story. Admittedly, I did try to kill our brother, and if he had only stayed dead I would have succeeded. But if you think that is so awful, what would you say about Thor dropping me into a black void at the edge of the realm?"

"No," Lena whispered. "Thor would never do that."

"Oh but he did," Loki smirked.

"Shutup!" Lena screamed. "If that's true then how the hell are you even here?"

Loki grinned yet again. "I have a multitude of tricks you couldn't possibly even imagine."

"You're a liar, Loki," Lena hissed venomously. "You're a liar and a trickster, and I don't believe a single word that comes out of your mouth. But I do believe that you're not my brother. Because no son of Odin and Frigga, or brother of Thor could turn out to be as vile, cruel, and sadistic as you!"

Loki tried to hide it, but Lena could see that her words were hitting home for him – which was exactly what she wanted.

"Perhaps you _were_ born a monster," Lena continued. "Perhaps it's in your blood. Who were your parents, Loki? Your father? I bet it was Laufey." Loki stiffened and Lena laughed darkly. "I'm right, aren't I? That makes sense. You _would_ turn out to be the son of the worst of all the Frost Giants."

"What room do you have to talk?" Loki deflected. "Your own father wanted nothing to do with you until you tried to drown yourself in a fit of self-pity."

Lena screamed, lunging at Loki with her staff. He disappeared just as she swung at him, and Lena whirled around to see him standing behind her.

"That was a nice try," he mocked, "But you missed."

Lena was breathing heavily, her chest heaving up and down. "I'm going to kill you," she said threateningly.

"Oh I believe you're going to try," Loki said. "But don't worry sister, you'll have your chance soon enough. That I promise you." Lena raised her eyebrows at him and he just chuckled. "Oh, and do tell your little boyfriend the archer I said hello, will you?"

Lena's entire body stiffened at the mention of Clint, and that's what sent her rage to its tipping point. She screamed yet again, throwing Gríðarvölr at him with all of her strength, only for him to disappear yet again.

"Fight me, you coward!" Lena screamed, calling her staff back to her and looking all around, but Loki was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh I will," Loki whispered in her ear suddenly, and Lena spun around only for him to grab her face with one hand. "Just you wait," Loki hissed as he waved his other hand around her face in a flourish of green and gold sparks before disappearing.

Lena spun around several times, but she knew that Loki was long gone at that point.

Suddenly though she began to feel very tired, her gaze drifting to the door that led back down to HQ. She tried to walk to it but only ended up stumbling, falling to her knees rather ungracefully.

"What's happening to me?" She mumbled, her words slurring as the darkness took over and she collapsed.

**xXxXx**

_If they loved you the way you believe they do, why would Thor have destroyed the Bifrost, leaving you stranded here? _

_Now you're stuck here on your precious Earth, left alone without any true family to call your own. _

_Perhaps if I had killed you sooner, this little realm might be a bit better off, wouldn't you say?_

_But if you think that is so awful, what would you say about Thor dropping me into a black void at the edge of the realm?_

_Your own father wanted nothing to do with you until you tried to drown yourself in a fit of self-pity._

_But don't worry sister, you'll have your chance soon enough. That I promise you._

_Oh, and do tell your little boyfriend the archer I said hello, will you_?

"Lena. Lena come on, you gotta wake up, baby."

Lena awoke with a loud gasp, sitting up in the hospital cot abruptly and in a slight delirium.

"Woah, woah, easy. Calm down, you're safe."

Lena jerked away as she felt someone touch her hand lightly, her head whipping to the side to see Clint sitting in a chair with his hands held up in surrender. She breathed heavily, her eyes scanning his face for any signs of danger, but all she saw was concern.

"It's just me," he said softly. "It's me, Lena. It's Clint."

Lena continued to stare at him, gasping and breathing heavily. She looked all around her and caught sight of Fitz and Simmons standing a few feet away and looking at her with similarly worried expressions. Simmons was in a lab coat holding a tablet of some sort, and Fitz was standing a bit in front of her trying to look braver than he obviously felt.

Lena turned back to face Clint, her breathing finally starting to calm down and get back to normal.

"Clint," she whispered, seeing him visibly relax at the sound of his name leaving her lips. "Oh god," she raised a palm to her head as a pounding headache made her ears ring. "Where am I?"

"You're in the lab. We could've taken you to the infirmary, but we figured you would be more comfortable here," Simmons answered in her bright, posh voice. Lena lifted her head to look at her friend, who seemed to be a bit afraid of her at that moment, but mostly worried. "When nobody could find you for several hours and there were no records of you leaving the building–"

"They sent out a little search party for you," Fitz finished in his thick Scottish accent.

"A tech guy found you on the roof about an hour ago," Clint said somberly. Lena turned to look at him for a brief second before looking down at her lap with her brow drawn together in deep thought. "Lena… who did this to you?" Clint asked suddenly.

"What?" Lena snapped her head up in confusion.

Clint sighed in irritation, but it wasn't directed at her. He reached over and grabbed a small mirror from the bedside table and held it out to her. She accepted it warily, gasping in shock when she held it out in front of her face.

Bruises littered her neck in the distinct shape of Loki's fingers, bringing back the terrible memory of not being able to breathe as he had choked her. But even more than that, her eyes were completely bloodshot, and the purple bags underneath them were worse than she had ever seen them before.

But Lena's shock quickly turned to anger as she slammed the mirror back down on the table hard enough to break the glass. She saw Fitzsimmons both jump, but she didn't pay them any mind as she flung the covers off of her and stood up from the bed in a fury.

"Oh you really shouldn't be getting up right now," Simmons tried to plead with her. "Fitz is still running tests and we have absolutely no idea what happened to you–"

"Loki," Lena hissed venomously as she walked over to a chair on the opposite side of the room that her jacket was laying over. She could feel Clint's eyes trained on her as he stood up from his chair tensely. "Loki did this to me."

"I'm sorry, who?" Fitz asked incredulously. "Loki? You mean your evil Asgardian brother? That Loki?"

"Fitz," Simmons admonished him, smacking her friend's chest lightly with the back of her hand.

"Yes, that Loki," Lena said harshly, pulling her jacket on and turning to face them. She looked all around the room and spotted her staff, stalking over to it and picking it up. The engravings lit up brighter than usual, her weapon literally feeling her anger.

"Fitzsimmons, would you give us the room?" Clint suddenly asked, keeping his eyes trained on Lena.

"But this is our lab," Fitz argued.

"Now," Clint said firmly, leaving no room for discussion.

Fitz grumbled some more, but Simmons eventually led him out. Lena was checking her knives when the door closed behind them, leaving her and Clint alone in the lab.

"Lena," Clint said in a soft yet unwavering voice. "You have to talk to me. What happened on the roof?"

"I already told you," she muttered, not making eye contact with him, "Loki happened. The bastard showed up out of literally nowhere," she said harshly, checking the gun that she had never used in her life but carried sometimes, "And choked me. Said a bunch of bullshit – oh yeah, turns out he isn't my brother by the way. Then he said more bullshit, made some threats that I did _not_ take lightly," she said in a dark tone, putting the gun in the back of her pants as she finally looked up at Clint resolutely. "So now I'm going to kill him."

"Woah, woah," Clint jumped in front of her as she tried to move for the door.

"Get out of my way, Clint."

"It's 3 in the morning," he told her, being careful not to touch her because she was obviously not in need of physical affection at that moment, but logical reasoning. "You were just attacked and then left passed out on the roof. He could have killed you, but he didn't. This isn't some one-woman mission you can take on, this is SHIELD business. We need to go to Coulson and Hill, tell them what happened, then we'll work with them on tracking the bastard down."

"This is _my_ business, Clint–"

"And you're SHIELD now, so it's SHIELD's business too," Clint snapped right back. He had never seen Lena look so angry, but he wasn't going to let her get herself hurt on a revenge mission that he was still confused on the details about. "Coulson's been waiting on you to wake up, so right now we're going to go downstairs, go through protocol, then decide what the next step is."

Clint stared her down, and he could practically see the gears in her mind turning with his words as she realized that his plan was much better than hers.

"We tackle everything together, right?" Clint continued. "That's what we said, that we'd face everything together."

Lena sighed, biting her lip as she looked away, her shoulders finally relaxing. "Yeah," she said softly. "Together."

Clint smiled softly, reaching out and placing a hand on her cheek, his thumb gently rubbing over the dark bags under her eyes that were unnatural – obviously Loki's doing. Anger flared up in his chest at that bastard that he had never even laid eyes on, only heard about and dealt with via the Destroyer in New Mexico. But Clint had a vendetta now – if Lena didn't kill Loki herself, then Clint was next in line.

**xXxXx**

Lena took deep breaths as she tried to fall asleep. It was early in the night, only 9 o'clock, but she and Clint had been at HQ for the past 15 hours retelling the same story over and over again to Coulson, Hill, Fury, and Natasha. Lena had been checked out by several different doctors and techs per Clint's request (as well as Coulson's, Fury's, Hill's, and Natasha's, but she wasn't as annoyed with them) only for every doctor she saw to say the same thing: they had no idea what Loki had done to make her pass out, and her bruising would go away in a few days.

Well, it would go away in a few days if Lena were a normal human, which she wasn't. The bruising on her neck and under her eyes was already starting to disappear by the time she and Clint had finally made it back to her apartment. They were both exhausted from their missions and then the escapades of the night, which made them both grumpy and irritable with each other. After a mini-shouting match Lena finally agreed to let Clint stay the night, annoyed with his insistence that she not be alone until they found Loki.

And Lena knew that he was only concerned for her safety and that he was technically making the right call, but in all honesty all she wanted was to be alone so she could curl up in a ball and cry at the devastating new she had received and had yet to deal with.

She couldn't go back to Asgard. That was the hardest part to process out of everything that Loki had told her. Not that he was the son of Laufey, and not that Thor had allegedly dropped him into the void. The hardest part was knowing that the Bifrost had been destroyed. Heimdall hadn't been _ignoring_ her cries out to him, he had been incapable of responding.

Lena sniffled, a single tear running down her cheek. Clint was already asleep, his arm slung around her waist where he lay behind her, her back against his chest and their legs tangled together.

Lena blinked away her remaining tears and forced herself to remain composed. She couldn't very well track down Loki, kill him, and then find a way to get back to Asgard if she were dead on her feet the next day.

She closed her eyes, focusing on the sounds of Clint's breathing and willing herself to fall asleep.

**xXxXx**

_She was standing at the end of a pier overlooking the ocean. The sky was bright and blue, the sun blazing overhead. It would have been hot were the salty wind not blowing. Lena smiled as her hair whipped around her face. She breathed deeply, taking in the magnificent sight of the seemingly endless blue waters._

"_It's beautiful, isn't it?" _

_Lena turned her head to the side to see Clint leaned up against the rail beside her, a smile on his face. She grinned over at him, looping her arm through his and leaning her head on his shoulder. _

"_Yeah, it is," she replied softly. "On Asgard, the waters look just like this leading out to the Bifrost. At the very end though, they just disappear," she told him nostalgically. "They just end all of a sudden, disappearing into open space. It's like a never ending, roaring, crashing waterfall that doesn't have a bottom." She paused. "Sometimes I feel like that," she said sadly. "I'm crashing down, about to hit rock bottom, but I never do. I just… float. No direction, no beginning, and no end. I just… exist." _

_Clint didn't reply._

"_Clint? Did you hear me?" _

_Lena looked over, but Clint wasn't there anymore. She crinkled her forehead in confusion when thunder suddenly boomed overhead. She looked up as rain began to pour down on her in heavy sheets, soaking her from head to toe. The sky had turned dark, flashes of lightning making her jump. The waves crashed roughly against the pier below, making the wood beneath her shoes begin to shake as if the pier would give way any second._

"_Clint!" Lena cried out loudly as she spun around, pushing her wet hair away from her eyes as it stuck to her face. "Clint!" _

"_Clint's not available right now."_

_Lena froze at that terribly familiar voice. She turned around slowly to see Loki standing behind her, smirking cruelly. Behind him, Clint lay on the ground with blood pooling around his body._

"_No!" Lena shrieked, running over to Clint and falling down beside him. She grabbed his face in her hands as the rain poured harder, mixing in with her tears. "No, no, no," she whispered breathlessly, checking for a pulse. "You can't be dead, you can't be. You can't leave me, Clint!" She screamed. _

_She checked for a heartbeat futilely, her hands running over his face in exasperation as she gasped for breath. Her chest felt as if it was on fire. _

_She pulled his eyelids up then to see if there was any life left in them, but then screamed. _

_Lena scrambled away, falling backwards and jarring her wrists. Clint's beautiful eyes weren't their normal green anymore – they were a bright blue, an _unnatural_ blue. Almost as if he were… possessed. _

_Loki came up behind Lena, crouching down to whisper in her ear. _

"_Such a shame," he whispered without any real emotion, "And he had such pretty eyes."_

_Lena scrambled to her feet, pushing Loki away from her. She was breathing heavily, blinking away the heavy raindrops from her eyelashes. _

"_This isn't real," she said over the sound of the storm. "This is just a dream, it's not real. I'm lying in my bed in my apartment, and Clint is right beside me. This is just a nightmare."_

_To reinforce her point, Lena closed her eyes tightly and pinched her arm. She reopened her eyes and looked down at the reddening skin in confusion, still trapped in the dream world. _

"_That might've worked," Loki said haughtily, "Were this just a dream."_

_Lena looked up at him with anger. "Get out of my head!" She screamed just as lightning flashed overhead and thunder immediately followed._

_Loki laughed. _

"_Oh darling sister of mine," he said menacingly as he stalked closer to her, "I'm not in your head. You're in mine." _

Lena gasped awake, sitting up abruptly. She was breathing heavily, tears forming in her eyes. She blinked them away rapidly as she looked to the side to see Clint still lying beside her, fast asleep and undisturbed. He lay on his stomach, clutching the pillow with his peaceful face turned towards her.

'_I'm not in your head. You're in mine.'_

Lena flinched as Loki's words rang in her head. That had been no ordinary dream. That had been some sort of twisted magic.

She laid back down beside Clint, pulling the covers all the way up to her chest. She was shaking all over, pure fear coursing through her veins. She had a dreadful feeling that that dream was only the first of many. Loki meant to torture her.

He meant to drive her insane.

**xXxXx**

**FIVE DAYS LATER**

Sweat poured down Lena's face as she pummeled the punching bag in front of her. Her body was taut with frustration, her toned muscles visibly flexing from the gray sports bra and gym shorts she was wearing. She grunted, picturing Loki's smug face with each violent punch.

The past five days had been a nightmare. Between Loki's mind games, the lack of progress on his whereabouts (Lena assumed he was way off world by now so she had never had any real hope in that search), and Clint and Natasha's incessant hovering, she was going a bit mad.

And what was even worse was that Lena was falling right into what Loki had planned for her. He was trying to drive her insane and it was sure as hell working. After the third nightmare where Loki forced her to watch Natasha and Clint both get bullets through their brains, Lena had given up on sleep completely. She was currently on her 47th hour awake, not having stopped moving that entire time.

Clint was beyond irritated with her, not understanding what the hell her problem was since she hadn't told anyone about the dreams. That was her business to deal with and no one else's. Try as hard as everyone might, nobody understood Loki's games and tricks. They would try to send Lena to the psych ward which wouldn't help anything get done, so she kept the information to herself.

And as a distraction, Lena had trained, visited tech to try and help track Loki down, called Jane Foster so many times the poor woman had changed her number, and then trained some more. She was exhausted, driven, and on the verge of a complete mental break.

As Lena continued to hit the punching bag with every ounce of her strength, Clint came into the gym and leaned against the opposite wall as all the other agents emptied out for lunch and debriefings and such. It seemed like as everyone left, they all shot him sympathetic glances with a look in Lena's direction.

But Clint didn't want anyone's sympathy – he wanted answers for why his girlfriend was acting so freaking crazy and how he could fix it. She hadn't slept in days, and had barely left the gym that entire time. Her eyes were bloodshot and had purple bags under them, she was jumpy, irritable, and sometimes just plain mean to the people around her. And when Lena Sullivan – the most kindhearted person Clint had ever met – snapped at Fitzsimmons – her favorite science duo in the whole world – he knew that something was most definitely wrong.

When it dawned on Clint that Lena had no plans of leaving that punching bag anytime soon, he walked up behind her and gently touched her shoulder.

Bad idea.

Lena whirled around, her taped fist flying at Clint's face. He deflected it easily, but had to move quickly to block her knee as it jerked upwards towards his groin. She moved to throw another cross at his face when he caught her fist in his hand roughly.

Lena froze upon seeing Clint's face, the red haze fading from her vision.

"Shit," she whispered, appalled at herself. "Clint I'm so sorry, I just… I just wasn't paying attention," she lowered her hand, stepping back and looking away from him.

"It's alright," Clint said, his face drawn together in concern. "I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that."

Lena didn't reply, only took deep breaths as she kept her eyes averted from Clint's.

"You okay?" He asked. "You seem a bit… more tense than usual."

Lena huffed and rolled her eyes, turning on her heel and beginning to take the tape off of her hands as she walked away from him.

"I'm fine, Clint," she snapped harshly. "For the millionth damn time I'm perfectly alright, now would you stop asking?"

Clint scoffed. "Well excuse me, Miss Let Me Avoid Everyone I Can and Be a Dick to Everyone I Can't," he said, his voice rampant with sarcasm. "Sorry for checking on my girlfriend's well-being when she has obviously taken a trip to Crazy Town."

Lena didn't reply, just continued to rip the tape off of her hands violently.

"I'm worried about you, Lena," Clint lowered his voice and walked towards her.

"No need to be worried," Lena said in an eerily calm voice. "Loki hasn't shown back up and the techs haven't found a single trace of him," she turned back to face Clint and he was disturbed by the lack of emotion on her face as she looked into his eyes. "He was probably just screwing with me. Everything is fine."

Clint sighed, sadness reflected across every inch of his face.

"You know getting lied to sucks enough, but getting lied to by the person you care about most in the world sucks even worse."

Lena's heart seemed to implode at his pain-stricken words. She wanted to apologize, she wanted to cry and fall into his arms in a heap and beg him to fix it, she wanted to tell him about the terrible dreams that Loki was making her see every time she laid her head down at night, but she couldn't. She was incapable of saying the words.

"Just drop it, Clint," she said harshly, turning away as a flash of hurt crossed his face, "You just don't understand, so let it go."

"You're right, I don't understand," Clint said as he followed her over to her locker and stood next to her, frustrated that she wouldn't even look at him. "So _help_ me understand, Lena. Help me understand so that I can help _you_."

"I don't NEED your help, Clint!" Lena screamed, slamming her locker shut and turning to face him with pure rage in her normally compassionate eyes.

Clint fell silent, gulping and blinking rapidly.

"Yeah. Obviously not," he said quietly, looking down at his shoes, his voice lacking its typical sarcasm and replaced by hurt. It took every ounce of Lena's willpower not to tell him the truth right then and there.

"Look, I just need some space," Lena said harshly.

Clint froze for a brief second before looking up at her, anger in his own eyes now.

"Well you're gonna get it," he snapped. "Coulson offered me a mission and I didn't want to take it at first so I could stay here with you, but since you obviously don't _need_ me," he hissed, "I think I'm going to take it after all."

"Wait, what?" Lena asked dumbly as he turned on his heel and began to walk away from her. "Well how… how long will you be gone?"

"Don't know. I leave tomorrow though." Clint turned to her again, holding his arms out exasperatedly as he walked backwards towards the exit. "But hopefully I'll be gone long enough for you to get all the space you need," he said harshly, his words cutting Lena to the quick the same way hers had hurt him.

Lena opened her mouth to say something else, but no words came. Clint scoffed bitterly before turning around again and leaving the room. Lena flinched as he punched the wall on his way out.

_What just happened_? She asked herself.

Lena was unable to come up with an answer as she fell to her knees and covered her mouth with her hand as she began to sob.

**xXxXx**

**A/N: Ouch. I'm crying. Are you crying? Leave me a review if you're crying. Also leave a review if you're not crying. Basically leave a review pretty please. **

**By the way, just want to say again that this is IT for original storyline – at least for a while. We move into the Avengers next chapter and I am SOOOOO excited! Hope you guys are too! **


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**A/N: IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE! WE'VE FINALLY REACHED THE AVENGERS! Review and tell me how you liked it! **

**xXxXx**

**ONE MONTH LATER**

"Explain to me again why you called me in the middle of the night just to fly me out to a secret facility I've never even heard of while everyone else is being evacuated?" Lena asked dryly over the whirring of the helicopter blades. "Because I may be half-godlike and all that, but I'm still destructible."

Director Fury chuckled from where he sat across from her while Maria Hill rolled her eyes.

"Agent Sullivan, I never seem to tire of your sarcasm," Fury remarked.

Lena narrowed her eyes. "I feel like that in and of itself was sarcasm."

"The 084 that we're investigating has very similar readings to your staff," Maria said in her typical all-business tone. "We're hoping that maybe you and all of your… wise Asgardian knowledge could maybe give us some insight on what the hell it is."

Lena chuckled under her breath. "Damn, you two have me _way_ outranked in the sarcasm department," she muttered, catching Maria's reluctant smile out of the corner of her eye.

The helicopter landed minutes later amidst the facility's evacuation. Lena got out first, examining the scene around her as Hill and Fury joined her. She had to take a deep breath as her body began to sway in a sudden onset of dizziness.

"You okay?" Hill asked in mild concern. Lena looked over and blinked several times before nodding and forcing a smile. "Are you sure? Because you look like hell."

Lena scoffed, shaking her head with an amused grin. "Yeah well I feel like hell, so that makes sense."

Hell was an understatement. The past month had been four weeks of pure misery for Lena. Between getting only about three hours of sleep every 24 hour cycle, going on missions while trying not to worry about Thor and the rest of her Asgardian family, and not speaking to Clint since they broke up (she still wasn't sure if it was a 'breakup' per se, but it sure hurt like one so she was calling it that), Lena was definitely feeling like hell.

But in a strange twist of fate, Clint breaking up with her had been a real wakeup call for Lena. His words that day in the gym had cut her to the very core, but they had also been necessary. He had shown Lena that she was letting Loki win, and that was the last thing she wanted.

So Lena had started fighting back. Fitzsimmons had fixed her up a nice cocktail that she took every night as an attempt to ward off Loki's mind invasion, and sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. But overall the dreams had become much more manageable. Actually, now that she thought about it, Lena realized that she hadn't seen Loki in her head in the past five days, which was a new personal best.

"Coulson!" Lena shouted when she saw the stoic senior agent awaiting them with his eerie smile that she had grown to love. She ran over and threw her arms around him and he hugged her back. "I missed you," she said honestly, not having seen him since the night Loki had attacked her.

"The feeling is mutual," Coulson smiled, not knowing how those words brought memories of messy blonde hair and piercing green eyes to the forefront of her mind. "How have you been?"

Lena sighed, forcing a slight smile. "I'm surviving."

"That's all we can hope for," Coulson said wisely.

Fury walked up to the pair then, Hill right by his side as always.

"How bad is it?" Fury asked.

"That's the problem, sir," Coulson replied. Lena's body tensed at his grave tone. "We don't know."

The group of four made their way through the facility, and Lena made sure to pay attention as Coulson explained how the Tesseract – a cube of pure energy that they fished out of the ocean from Captain America's plane – had been acting up and sending out spontaneous bursts of energy that were gradually becoming more and more dangerous.

"What are the energy levels now?" Fury asked suddenly.

"Climbing," Coulson said. "When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac."

Lena bit her lip in thought as they stopped onto a set of stairs. She remembered Erik Selvig from New Mexico, and he was apparently brilliant. If he couldn't shut down the Tesseract, then things must be really bad.

"Will everyone be able to get out?" Lena suddenly asked, grabbing the attention of her three colleagues as she spoke for the first time in several minutes. "Is there enough time for everyone to get to safety if things go critical?"

"Campus should be clear in the next half hour," Coulson told her, admiring her concern for everyone on base.

"Do better," Fury said firmly as he left Coulson behind.

Lena shot Coulson a meek smile before following after Fury and Hill. The three headed down to the radiation facility floor, the stairs eerily silent from the evacuation. Goosebumps appeared on Lena's arms as they descended further underground.

"Sir, evacuation may be futile," Hill said to Fury.

"We should tell them to go back to sleep?" He retorted.

"If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance."

"Well we still have to try," Lena interjected, catching Maria's eye. "We should plan for worst case scenario, but we have to keep hope for the best case scenario."

Fury and Hill stopped on the stairs, glancing between one another.

"I need you to make sure that Phase 2 prototypes are shipped out," Fury said to Hill suddenly. Lena's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Phase 2?" She inquired, "What the hell is Phase 2?"

"Sir, is that really a priority right now?" Hill snapped in an unusual tone for her, ignoring Lena completely.

"Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on," Fury snapped right back. "Clear out the tech below. Every piece of Phase 2 on a truck and gone."

"Yes, sir," Maria said dryly as she walked away from them and gestured for two agents to follow her. Lena was still standing next to Fury looking every bit confused as she was.

"Is someone going to tell me what Phase 2 is?" She asked.

"Nope," Fury replied bluntly before continuing down the stairs. Lena huffed, but followed.

They finally made it to the radiation lab and Fury walked in like he owned the place – which, to a certain extent, he did. Lena followed behind, her gaze immediately travelling over to the huge machine in the middle of the room.

"Talk to me, Doctor," Fury called out.

Lena chuckled as Erik Selvig's head popped up from behind the machine. Her chuckling ceased though when she saw the bright blue cube glowing in the middle of the same machine. Her eyes narrowed and she slowly began to walk towards it, nodding at Selvig who shuffled awkwardly away from her.

"Director," Lena heard Selvig greet as she walked over to stand beside a tech and peer into the cube.

"Is there anything we know for certain?" Fury asked.

Lena jumped back as the cube let out a small flare of energy towards her. It looked like blue smoke almost.

"The Tesseract is misbehaving," Selvig explained casually.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Fury snapped.

"No, it's not funny at all," the scientist replied. "The Tesseract is not only active, she's… behaving."

"Is that what these little flares are all about?" Lena asked as she stood to her full height and looked over at Selvig. "Because quite frankly, they look a lot like the force fields I can generate with my staff. And those things hurt like hell – or so I'm told," she smirked. "A flare of that kind of energy the size of this facility?" She shook her head from side to side. "It wouldn't be pretty."

"That's why I asked the Director to bring you here," Selvig said. "If we could examine your staff just one more time…"

Lena rolled her eyes, jerking her prized weapon out of her belt and walking over to Selvig with an annoyed expression. She placed it in his hands and huffed.

"Scan whatever you want," she muttered as he shuffled off to place it in front of a different machine that began running red lights over its surface.

"Have you ever seen anything like this?" Fury asked Lena as he walked with her over towards the cube.

"You mean on Asgard? No. I mean yeah, the color and the energy readings are similar to my staff, but that doesn't mean it's from Asgard. Didn't the Red Skull have possession of this back in World War II? Odin never would have let that a madman like that have control of an Asgardian weapon."

As Fury and Lena continued to converse back and forth over the insight she could offer about the cube, Clint Barton sat in the rafters and watched them. Or more specifically, he watched _her_.

Clint had been able to tell the very second Lena had walked into the room. He had overheard Selvig asking the Director to bring her the day prior, and his whole body had been tense with anticipation since then.

The past four weeks in that damn facility had been torturous. All he could ever think about was Lena, all he dreamed about was Lena, and all he ever wanted to do was run back to her and take her in his arms and never let go.

But at the end of the day, Clint knew he had made the right decision. He might have gone about it the wrong way with his harsh words, but giving Lena space that she obviously desired was the right call. She was going through something that he couldn't possibly understand, and he had a feeling she was keeping secrets from him. And no matter how much he wanted her to be open and honest with him, he was no stranger to the feeling that secrecy was necessary. So he stepped back. He separated himself from her in the hopes that it would give her the time and space she needed to deal with her issues. Lena was strong, and he had faith that she could heal herself no matter how much he wanted to be the one healing her.

And it seemed as though Clint's instincts had been correct. She looked much better than she had when he had left the DC HQ. He watched her every move as she stepped into the room, noting that she didn't look nearly as exhausted as she did before, but still tired. Her hair was shorter again, back to the length that it had been when he had met her in New Mexico. And her walk held its normal confidence, lacking in the pent up rage she had been carrying with her right after Loki had attacked.

Clint smiled from up above the rafters as he watched Lena roll her eyes and take her staff over to Selvig. He knew how much she hated giving her weapon over.

And even though Clint had made sure to have someone discreetly check in on her every day since he had left HQ and report back to him on how she was, it gave him a peace of mind to actually see her doing okay.

Back on the lab floor, Lena was standing off to the side of the Director and Selvig, trying to figure out what the hell the readings on the Tesseract meant. They were startlingly similar to her staff's radiation, only in much higher doses with a little Gamma radiation throw in just for kicks.

"How soon until you pull the plug?" Fury asked Selvig.

"She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level–"

"Have we prepared for this, Doctor?" Fury interrupted. "Harnessing energy from space?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Lena whirled around incredulously. Her eyes darted between Fury and Selvig. "That cube," she pointed at the Tesseract, "Is going to harness energy from space? What the hell does that mean?"

"Sullivan–"

"No," Lena snapped at Fury incredulously. "Don't 'Sullivan' me. You brought me here for what I know about unidentifiable objects from space, and I'm going to throw in a little bonus information for you." She paused dramatically. "You're not prepared to be harnessing energy from another realm," she said firmly, enunciating each word slowly. "Especially when you don't know just what realm this thing opens up to!" She shouted.

"We don't have the harness," Selvig explained calmly. "Our calculations are far from complete."

"You shouldn't be doing calculations to begin with," Lena all but snarled.

"Right now she's throwing off interference. Radiation. Nothing harmful, just low levels of gamma radiation."

Lena scoffed. "I think Bruce Banner might disagree with you on the 'nothing harmful' part of that statement."

"Where's Agent Barton?" Fury asked suddenly.

Lena's whole body tensed at the mention of Clint. She turned to face Fury slowly.

"What?" She whispered in an almost hiss. "Cl – Barton's here?"

"The Hawk?" Selvig asked with a humorless chuckle. "Up in his nest, as usual."

Lena's eyes followed where Selvig pointed behind him. Her eyes widened when, sure enough, there was Clint crouching up in the rafters. She let out a breath as she realized he was looking right down at her.

"Shit," Lena whispered to herself.

"Agent Barton," Fury said into his earpiece, "Report."

As Clint stood up in the rafters and rappelled down to the main floor, Fury turned to Lena.

"Agent Sullivan," he said firmly, "I trust that you and Agent Barton working together won't be a problem."

Lena gulped, forcing a smile as she straightened her shoulders. "Of course not, Director."

Fury narrowed his eyes, but nodded all the same.

Lena turned and watched as Clint strode towards them, his eyes meeting hers for just a brief second. He looked good as he always did, dressed in black SHIELD gear. Lena was unable to take her eyes off of him as he approached.

"Director," Clint said as he nodded at Fury. He turned to look at Lena, and they stared at one another for a few tense seconds. "Sullivan," he finally said in a clipped voice.

"Barton," Lena replied with more confidence than she was feeling.

Lena saw Fury roll his one good eye before turning on his heel and beginning to walk around the facility, she and Clint glancing at one another briefly before flanking each of his sides.

"I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things," Fury remarked.

"Well, I see better from a distance," Clint muttered. Lena bit her lip to keep from chuckling as a small smile overcame her face.

"Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off?"

"Doctor, it's spiking again," a female scientist suddenly shouted to Selvig. Lena watched as all of the scientists began to scramble.

"No one's come or gone," Clint answered Fury as the three of them came to a stop beside the machine. "Selvig's clean. No contacts, no IM's. If there was any tampering sir, it wasn't at this end."

"At this end?" Fury asked, his voice growing distant as Lena began to walk around to the other side of the machine, standing a few feet away from the cube as she peered down at it.

"Yeah," Clint replied. "The cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? Doors open from both sides."

Lena was completely oblivious to the men talking as she stared into the cube. The room suddenly began to shake around her, the entire facility quaking. Lena was entranced though, feeling as though deep down in the furthest parts of her mind she knew what this cube was. She could vaguely hear someone telling her to step back away from it, but she physically could not pull herself away.

"Lena," Clint called out as the room continued to shake, the walls cracking along the thick cement. "Lena get away from there," he said even louder as the flares from the cube grew bigger.

But it was no use. Lena was in a daze, captivated by the cube.

"A doorway between worlds," Lena whispered to herself as her eyes reflected the brightness of the cube.

"Lena!" Clint screamed as the energy levels peaked, the flares and glow of the cube seeming to boil over.

Lena's eyes grew wide as she finally began to snap back to reality, but it was too late.

The Tesseract's energy built up to its highest point, and Clint tried to run and knock Lena out of the way, but a beam came flying out of the cube right at her. Lena barely had time to gasp as the blast of pure energy surged at her, sending her flying twenty feet across the room and into the wall.

Lena crashed into the wall, falling to the ground in a heap as she cracked her head open. Blood trickled down the side of her face as she struggled to stand up, gasping for breath.

"Lena," Clint called out to her as he ran over. He crouched down next to her and wrapped one arm around her waist and placed the other on her arm to help her stand up. She groaned in pain as she stood to her full height.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Lena waved him off, pushing the pain to the back of her mind.

Before Clint could say anything there was another roar of noise. He let go of her slowly as the beam from the Tesseract began to open up a portal on the platform on the far side of the room.

Lena began to limp backwards towards the Director slowly, Clint following suit. The portal grew larger and larger with each passing second, massive blue flares of energy shooting out from its circumference. Beyond the portal was blackness, like a void.

"This isn't good," Lena whispered, never taking her eyes off of the portal.

Suddenly the portal seemed to explode, sending a wave of energy across the room. Lena expected it to knock her backwards and her body tensed, but that never happened. It just felt like a warm blast of wind.

Lena blinked several times to refocus her eyes. She could feel blood trickling down her temple as she stared up at the platform. Something was up there, but she couldn't tell what it was. Blue flames and energy flares licked the sides of whatever had come through, and Lena realized it was the shape of a man.

As the flames and smoke died down, Lena found herself slowly walking towards the person – or alien, or something else entirely, she didn't know.

"Lena," Clint whispered, reaching for her wrist, but she just shrugged him off and continued to walk closer.

Clint moved to pull Lena back, but Fury stopped him with a look.

Lena walked slowly towards the platform, her feet taking almost silent steps. The air was crackling, heat exuding from the platform that stung her eyes. Fury motioned for a few armed agents to follow Lena's movements.

The flames finally died down, and Lena froze in her tracks.

"No," she whispered upon realizing who had come through the portal.

Loki raised his head slowly, an absolutely terrifying smirk on his sharp features. His gaze went right to Lena and he only seemed to look viler upon seeing her.

Lena was completely frozen. She couldn't speak, she couldn't move, she couldn't even breathe. Loki chuckled before raising his head a few more inches and scanning the rest of the room, his smirk replaced by something… else.

"Sir," Fury called out from the back of the room as Loki stood up to his full, terrifying height. Lena noticed that he was holding a spear in his hand with a blue gem that was the same color as the Tesseract. "Please put down the spear!"

Loki looked down at his spear in mild amusement before looking back up at the rest of the room. Lena finally seemed to snap back into reality yet again, blinking rapidly as she read Loki's next move.

"No!" She screamed, lunging forward, but it was too late. Loki pointed the spear at where Fury and Clint were standing, shooting out a burst of blue light in their direction.

Lena jumped up onto the platform with no real plan in mind and Loki swung his spear at her, sending her flying across the room as if she were a mere rag doll. Lena skidded across the floor before crashing into the wall yet again, her eyes fluttering open as she heard gunshots.

All hell was breaking loose as rapid gunfire was shot at Loki, but the bullets simply bounced off of him. Lena struggled to her feet as Loki jumped off the platform and attacked several agents, stabbing them with his spear and flinging his knives at the others, sending more waves of energy all around the room.

One of the shots of energy had knocked Clint to the ground, and Lena ran over to him.

"Clint. Clint," she gasped out, placing her hands on his cheeks. "Oh thank God," she breathed in relief as he groaned in pain.

Lena turned and stood up slowly, extending her hand to her staff where it still lay in Selvig's machine. It soared into her palm as she stared at Loki's back, her former brother breathing heavily as he looked at the room he had just desecrated.

"Loki," Lena called out in her loudest voice.

Loki froze for a second before slowly turning to face her. Lena gulped, her hands shaking as she took in his menacing appearance. He looked almost sickly, but the violence in his eyes was terrifying.

"Here I am," Lena continued, her voice just barely shaking. "You said you would fight me so here I am. Leave these people alone and fight _me_," she hissed.

Loki laughed, his shoulder shaking underneath the heavy green cloak he wore.

"You dull child," he sneered. "You honestly think I came all this way just for you?" Lena's brow drew together in confusion and he laughed. "You are nothing, sister. My plans are much bigger than you."

"Well then," Lena cocked her head to the side, "It's a good thing I know how to adapt."

Lena swung her staff to the side with all of her strength, sending a force field out of it that knocked Loki backwards just a few steps as he raised his spear to block the energy wave. Lena used the distraction to run up to him, spinning around and swinging her weapon mightily. He deflected it easily, making a noise of irritation as he dodged her next attack to his head. They spun around one another as if in some sort of violent dance.

Suddenly though Loki snarled as more bullets hit his back and bounced off. He and Lena both froze and looked behind him at where Clint was crouched down on one knee with his gun in his hand. Loki turned back to Lena with an evil smile.

"No Loki, don't–"

But Loki just reared his spear back and shot a blast of energy right at Lena's chest, sending her crashing backwards into a table full of computers.

Loki turned back to Clint, shooting a blast of energy at him as well. Clint dodged it, but the energy was strong enough to knock him off of his feet and crashing to the ground. He tried to stand up and throw a punch at Loki, but Loki grabbed his arm and pinned it backwards.

"You have heart," Loki hissed. "You also hold my sister's heart," he sneered. Clint's eyes widened. "I'm going to need both of those."

With those words, Loki pointed the tip of his spear and pressed it into Clint's chest just above his heart.

Lena sat up from the wreckage she had created with a painful groan, her eyes darting over to see Fury sitting up slowly as well. He glanced at her one time before looking back over to Clint and Loki.

Lena gasped as she saw Loki press the spear into Clint's chest. Her whole body began to shake as the spear glowed a brighter blue, and Clint's eyes turned completely black before fading into an unnatural blue – the same blue as the cube.

Loki pulled the spear back away from Clint and Lena waited on him to attack, but it never happened. Instead, Clint simply put his gun back in his holster and stood there.

"Clint," Lena whispered.

Loki made a face of contentment before taking his spear and striding to the other areas of the room to turn more SHIELD personnel into his slaves. Lena pulled herself away from the computers and crawled over to Fury wordlessly, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out in pain. Her eyes kept glancing back to Clint, but he continued to simply stand there unmoving, his eyes possessed just like they had been in that first dream Loki had given her.

"Get the Tesseract," Lena whispered to Fury as she finally reached him, pulling herself into a crouch. Her Asgardian nature was already healing her body, but it still hurt like a bitch. "Take it, now. We have to get the hell out of here."

Fury pulled a suitcase over to him and placed the steaming cube into it as quickly as he could. He closed the case and then wrapped an arm around Lena's wait to help hoist her up. She was just about to send him out with the cube so she could deal with Loki and Clint herself when Loki spoke, freezing the pair in their tracks.

"Please don't," Loki said. "I still need that."

Lena exhaled a deep breath of anger, turning to face him.

"I'm going to have to disagree with that, _brother_," she sneered, mocking him the way he had mocked her.

"This doesn't have to get any messier," Fury said.

"Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else," Loki snapped. "I am Loki, of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose."

"Oh shutup," Lena snapped, making a flare of anger cross Loki's features. "You and your dramatic antics are getting real tiring. You don't have any glorious purpose, you're just a madman."

Loki snarled, moving to step forward. Fury spoke quickly.

"We have no quarrel with your people," the Director said. "We've even employed your sister. I'd say we get along pretty well."

"An ant has no quarrel with a boot," Loki retorted.

"You planning to step on us?"

Loki chuckled darkly, walking menacingly. Lena glanced back over his shoulder at Clint, her body literally shaking with the desire to run over and somehow snap him out of Loki's mind control.

"I come with glad tidings," Loki extended his arms. "Of a world made free."

"Free from what?" Lena snapped.

"Freedom," Loki hissed. "Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart…"

Loki spun around on his heel, pressing his spear into Selvig's chest to do the same thing he had done to Clint and all the other agents.

"No!" Lena shouted as Selvig's eyes turned black. She tried to go after him, but Fury held her back. This was a fight she wasn't going to win.

"You will know peace," Loki continued.

"Yeah, you say peace," Fury drawled, "I kind of think you mean the other thing."

Lena's eyes glanced up briefly at the ceiling above her. The vacuum chamber held a cloud of the Tesseract's energy and it swirled around like a terrifying blue cloud, rapidly building with each passing second.

"Sir," Clint said, and Lena snapped her head back to him with an expression of hope. But he wasn't referring to the Director, he was calling _Loki_ 'sir.' "Director Fury is stalling," he said in a distinctly un-Clint-like voice, walking over to where Loki stood. "This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us." Clint looked over at Fury and Lena with a venomous expression and Lena actually gasped in fright. "He means to bury us."

Lena looked up at Fury. "Like the pharaohs of old," he drawled.

Loki sighed, and Lena watched him anxiously.

"Well then," he turned to Clint.

Clint didn't even hesitate as he whipped out his gun faster than Lena had ever seen him move, pointing it at Fury and shooting him right in the chest.

"No!" Lena screamed as Fury fell down beside her.

But before Lena could move, a sharp pain tore through her arm and she screamed, falling to her knees. She gripped her upper arm tightly, pulling her hand away and seeing dark red blood. She looked up at Clint with wide, watery eyes and a horrified expression.

He had shot her. Clint Barton, the man her whole universe revolved around, had _shot_ her.

And he didn't even seem to care. Lena was gasping in pain as Clint walked over beside her and reached down next to Fury, picking up the suitcase that held the Tesseract. He turned on his heel without a glance in her direction and strode out of the lab with Loki, Selvig, and other SHIELD personnel that Loki had taken control of.

Just before they left the room though, Loki glanced over his shoulder and smirked at Lena.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Magdalena," he called out to her. "And don't worry, I'll take care of Agent Barton for you."

Lena let out a scream of anger, struggling to her feet as they disappeared from the room. She wanted to run after them right then, but she turned and crouched down next to Fury.

"Director. _Director_. Come on Nicky, I know you're not dead."

Fury groaned, opening his eyes slowly and sitting up with Lena's assistance.

"Your brother's a real bastard," Fury groaned out as he pulled the bullet from his resistant vest. "Go," he said as he looked up at her, "Go! Now!"

Lena didn't hesitate to comply, scrambling to her feet and calling her staff to her from where it had fallen on the ground. She skidded around the corner in a sprint, pushing her legs with every ounce of strength she had, ignoring the pain in her arm.

"…_Who's that?"_

"_He didn't tell me."_

Lena inhaled sharply when she heard Maria Hill's and then Clint's voices around the corner up ahead.

"Hill!" Lena shouted as loud as she could. "Hill, stop them! Clint's compromised!"

Lena rounded the corner just in time to see Maria turn and shoot at Clint, but he responded in kind just as quickly. Lena dove out of the way and pushed Maria to the ground to keep the both of them from getting shot. The two women scrambled to their feet quickly, Maria pointing her gun and shooting as Clint jumped in the driver's seat of a truck with Selvig in the passenger seat and Loki crouched down in the truck bed.

"Car, now!" Lena shouted, Maria throwing herself into the driver's seat of a SHIELD Jeep.

The two girls peeled out after Loki, Clint, and Selvig, Maria shooting out the window. Their vehicles screeched through the underground tunnels of the facility, Loki shooting several blasts of energy from the truck bed at other cars that came to the girls' aid.

"Alright, enough of this shit," Lena muttered under her breath as she crawled out the window and onto the hood of the Jeep – while it was moving at incredibly high speeds and being shot at.

Loki whipped his head around from the truck bed and smirked at her, the noises of the tunnel deafening. Lena's hair whipped all around her and she gripped her staff tight as she managed to slowly come to a standing position on the hood of the car.

Loki sent her blast after blast of energy, but Lena blocked them all with force fields from her staff.

"Maria!" Lena called out loudly over the gunfire and screeching tires, "Remember that story you told me about Taiwan?"

Hill smirked. She pressed down on the gas pedal as far as it would go, sending the Jeep roaring up beside the truck. Lena kept one hand on her staff and the other holding onto the roof of the Jeep to keep from falling off the hood. She watched Loki follow their movements, her veins thrumming with adrenaline.

Lena's eyes went straight to Clint as they sped past, but his face was stoic and focused on the tunnel ahead. Just as they were about three-quarters of the vehicle length ahead of the truck, Lena shouted, "Now!" and Maria pulled the emergency brake and jerked the wheel to the right, pulling a 180 and jamming the front bumper of her car into the front bumper of their car.

Lena stumbled at the collision, her body falling forward so that her lower body was on Maria's vehicle and her upper body was on their vehicle. She grunted on impact, raising her head just in time to see Clint pointing his gun at the windshield.

Lena gasped, rolling to the side and narrowly avoiding the fire. She heard Maria shooting as well, but focused on her own task. She climbed up the windshield and onto the roof of the truck, reaching down into the passenger seat through the open window.

"Sorry about this, Erik," Lena muttered as she jabbed her staff into Selvig's sternum, making the man double over as she reached for the briefcase holding the Tesseract. Just before she had her hands on it though she was yanked back.

Lena shrieked as Loki pinned her back down to the roof of the moving vehicle, pointing his spear at her chest. He looked even angrier than before as he breathed heavily, sweat pouring down his face.

"Will you ever stop being a pest?" He hissed.

Lena grinned despite herself. "Nope," she snapped back, bringing her knee up and jamming it into Loki's groin. He let out a sound of pain, falling backwards back into the truck bed. Lena followed suit, raising her staff to bring it down on him. He raised his spear just in time and blocked the blow, releasing a flare of energy as the two weapons collided that seemed to shock them both.

Lena's eyes darted behind her as she heard tires screeching. She had to grab the side of the truck as Clint jerked the wheel from side to side and got Maria off of his bumper. Lena turned back to Loki just in time to duck his blow when suddenly there was a huge booming sound and seconds later a cloud of blue light came flying through the tunnel, sending both vehicles jumping as if they had hit a speed bump.

Lena and Loki both turned to watch as the tunnel began to crumble, the falling rocks chasing after the two vehicles.

"Maria!" Lena screamed as the tunnel collapsed on top of her friend. "No!"

Loki laughed as the truck they were in made it out of the tunnel just in time, bursting into the open air. Lena was breathing heavily, gripping her staff harder than ever before as they stood face-to-face in the truck bed.

"You just can't seem to stop losing people you care about, can you?" Loki taunted.

Lena let out a cry of rage, attacking him once again. They fought back and forth, Lena's anger clouding her rationality, allowing Loki to catch her across the face with his spear, opening a cut on her cheek.

Suddenly the sound of a chopper came overhead, and the two looked up to see Fury poking his head out of the helicopter and shooting at the vehicle, making sure to avoid Lena.

Lena fell to the truck bed in a heap as Clint turned the wheel abruptly, going off road. Seconds later, Loki was reaching down and grabbing her face with one hand, lifting her up from the truck bed so high that her feet dangled in the air.

"I've had enough of you today," he muttered before throwing her out of the truck.

Lena crashed to the dirt, rolling several times before coming to a stop on her stomach. She gasped in pain, barely able to push herself up in time to watch Loki shoot a blast of energy at the helicopter. The chopper caught on fire, spinning down towards the ground – right towards Lena.

"Oh shit."

Lena rolled out of the way just in time to narrowly avoid one of the chopper's blades slicing her in half. She curled up into a ball as the chopper exploded in a fiery ball of heat. She shielded her face from the flames and managed to stand up, dirt sticking to the blood on her face, arm, and leg. Her SHIELD gear was ripped all over, her hair a wreck.

"_Director_?" Lena heard Coulson's voice say over a walkie.

She glanced over to see Fury standing to his feet. She scoffed in disbelief. He must've jumped out of the chopper right before it went down.

"_Director Fury, do you copy?"_

Lena groaned in pain as she limped over to Fury, the Director glancing at her for a brief second.

"The Tesseract is with the hostile force," Fury replied into the walkie. "I have men down."

Lena grabbed the walkie from him and held it up to her mouth with both hands. "Hill?" She asked, seeing Fury's eyes widen at her anxiety. "Hill, do you copy?"

"_A lot of men still under_," Maria's voice croaked out, and Lena sighed in relief before handing the walkie back to Fury. "_Don't know how many survivors_."

"Sound the general call," Fury said. "I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that brief case."

"_Roger_ _that_," Maria said.

Lena took deep breaths to try and calm herself, digging the bullet out of her arm with her fingers. Fury looked on at her in concern.

"Coulson, get back to base," he continued saying into the walkie. "This is a Level Seven."

Lena's eyes snapped up to look at Fury.

"Director?" She asked softly, in disbelief.

Fury sighed, his entire body tense. "As of right now," he continued, "We are at war."

A beat passed, Lena's breathing shallow. If they were at war that meant Clint was now on the enemy's side. How could she be expected to fight the enemy when the enemy was the man she thought she might be in love with?

"_What do we do?_" Coulson asked.

Fury stood there like a statue for a brief second before lowering the walkie talkie and looking down at Lena. Her expression was fierce, but also scared. He appreciated that about her.

"You know what we have to do," he said to her specifically.

Lena nodded.

"It's time to bring the Avengers together."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**A/N: This is the recruiting chapter! We get to see Lena interact with some of the Avengers before we move into the real action-y chapters. Do you guys like how this is going? If you have predictions of how things will go from here, review and tell me what they are! Hope you all enjoy this chapter! **

**xXxXx**

Lena chewed on her thumbnail and tapped her foot incessantly as she sat in an uncomfortable metal chair while Coulson ordered several agents around. Her hands started to shake as flashes of unnaturally blue eyes and gunshots and energy blasts and collapsing tunnels wracked her mind. She managed to lower her hand before she bit her nail down to the quick, looking up at Coulson as he walked over to her.

"How's the arm?" He asked in a kind voice.

"It's already healed," she said with a shrug, her voice tight. "Did you get the number?"

"We're working on it right–" Coulson stopped as an agent rushed over to him and handed him a cell phone. "Right now," he said as he held the phone up to his ear.

Lena immediately stood up from her chair, watching Coulson with a tense expression. She was so close to him that she could hear the other end of the line. Someone answered in Russian and Coulson didn't even bat an eye.

"You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F22 exactly 8 miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby."

"Nice," Lena whispered. Coulson smiled, but just briefly.

A few seconds later the phone transferred.

"We need you to come in," Coulson said bluntly.

"_Are you kidding? I'm working."_

Lean breathed an audible sigh of relief at just the mere sound of Natasha's voice. She never thought she would be so thankful to hear that snarky attitude.

"This takes precedence," Coulson replied.

"_I'm in the middle of an interrogation, and this moron is giving me everything._" There was a pause and Lena chuckled. "_Look, you can't pull me out of this right now_," Natasha argued.

"Give me that," Lena muttered, yanking the phone from Coulson's hand and holding it up to her ear.

"Nat," she said in a tight voice.

Natasha immediately knew that something was wrong. "_Lena what is it?_"

Lena paused, a flare of pain crossing her chest. "It's Clint," her voice cracked. "He's… he's been compromised."

A single, silent beat passed, and Lena could practically feel Natasha's anger that mirrored her own even though her friend was thousands of miles away.

"_Let me put you on hold."_

"You've got thirty seconds."

"_Gimme twenty_," Natasha said confidently.

Lena stood there with a bored expression as sounds of a struggle resounded through the phone. She and Coulson stood there waiting patiently, and precisely twenty seconds later Natasha's voice came back through.

"_Where's Barton now?"_

Lena sighed, running her hand through her hair. "Nobody knows."

"_But he's alive?"_

Lena flinched. "Yeah, he's alive. I'm positive."

"_How can you be sure?"_

"Because Loki took him, and Loki is all about dramatics. He wouldn't have taken Clint the way that he did just to kill him."

"_Loki_?" Natasha asked incredulously. _"Your brother? I thought he wanted _you_. Why would he take Clint?" _

"I thought his fight was with me too, but he says it's bigger than that. He took the Tesseract, turning Clint, Selvig, and a bunch of other agents into these… possessed slaves or something. I think he took Clint for two reasons: one, to hurt me, and two, he needs Clint's specific skillsets for whatever he's planning."

"_Well what's our next move?" _

Lena sighed, glancing over at Coulson.

"We're calling it in," she replied. "Level Seven. And we need you to go talk to the big guy."

Natasha chuckled. "_Lena, you and Coulson both know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me._"

"Oh no, Coulson and I are taking care of Stark right after I have a chat with the human popsicle," Lena replied. "You get the _big_ guy."

Natasha was silent for a split second. "_Bozhe_-_moi_," she cursed.

"Yeah that's about right," Lena muttered. "Be safe. I'll report back as soon as possible."

"_Wait_, _Lena_," Natasha said hurriedly. "_Are_ _you_ _okay_?"

Lena froze. _Was_ she okay? Her evil brother had just killed several agents, stolen a weapon of mass destruction that probably had hundreds of other terrifying possibilities that could desecrate the human race, and had turned the most important person in her life into his personal slave and she had absolutely no idea where they were or if the possession was even reversible.

"No," Lena finally replied in a clipped voice. "I'm not okay. I'm angry, Nat. I am livid, I am furious, I am _enraged_," she hissed. "And I'm going to use that rage to track Loki down, rip him limb from limb come hell or high water, and save Clint no matter what I have to do or who I have to kill." She paused, feeling the wrath coursing through her veins. "I refuse to stand back and lose yet another person I care about without putting up the fight of my life. Never. Again."

Natasha was quiet for a moment. "_Good_," she finally said. "_I'll see you soon. Be safe_."

The call ended, and Lena pulled it down from her ear, handing the phone back to Coulson wordlessly as he stared at her in shock.

"That was pretty intense," he remarked casually.

"Yeah well, I tend to get a bit intense when people fuck around with my life."

**xXxXx**

A few hours later after a short Quinjet ride to Brooklyn that gave Lena the chance to get some very restless sleep, she quietly made her way into an old, empty boxing gym. Well, it was empty except for one person.

Steve Rogers. World War II legend known as Captain America, science experiment, and all around good man (according to all of Coulson's stories Lena had heard), was standing across the room pummeling a gym bag. Lena's eyebrows raised as his punches got harder and harder, the unbelievable muscles in his back tensing and rippling underneath his white t-shirt. Each hit seemed to be fueled with a frustration Lena couldn't relate to, but could certainly understand. The man had been frozen in ice for almost 70 years only to come out to… this. It must have been devastating.

Suddenly though, he reared back the hardest punch of them all and sent the punching bag flying several feet away from him where it crashed to the ground. He stood there breathing heavily, sweat pouring down his body.

Rogers turned and glared when he heard someone slow clapping behind him. He narrowed his eyes in confusion when he saw a girl of average height that looked to be in her early 20s, with sandy blonde hair that was stick straight and to her shoulders, clapping her hands together and looking at him with an impressed expression. He glanced at her attire, thinking it was odd that she was wearing dark wash and very tight jeans, black boots, a blank tank top, and a silver jacket. But odder than that, she had some sort of silver metal stick in her belt. Overall, she didn't look like she was there to train.

"That," Lena said in a fascinated voice, "Was pretty impressive."

"Ma'am?"

"Ew gross, don't call me ma'am," Lena waved her hand at him as she walked over and sat down on the edge of the boxing ring. "Besides, I wasn't going to call you Captain," she remarked. Steve's eyes widened as he realized that she knew who he was. "Oh yeah, I know who you are," Lena continued with a slight smile. "The legendary Captain America. Pulled from the ice into a whole new century. Pretty crazy."

Steve pursed his lips together and turned, picking up another punching bag and hanging it up where he had knocked the other one away.

"Crazy doesn't really begin to cover it," he muttered, punching again.

Lena paused for a few seconds before getting up and walking over to stand a few feet to his side.

"You've got good form," she observed offhandedly. "Granted, it's military form and not really boxing form per se, but that's neither here nor there."

Steve stopped punching and turned to look at her with his brow drawn together. "You know about boxing, ma'am?" He asked curiously.

"Don't call me ma'am, and yes, I know boxing form," she replied, walking around the punching bag, her boots clacking against the wood flooring. "Surprised that a girl can point out your form?" She asked tersely.

Steve chuckled somewhat sadly, shaking his head. "No ma'am," he ignored her previous request not to call her by that title, "I'm no stranger to women surprising me with their strength."

Lena smiled. "I trained in a gym like this for two years before I had some… major life changes, you could say. It came in handy when I got recruited for SHIELD."

"You work for SHIELD?" Steve asked, his curiosity peaked.

"Sure do," Lena smiled. "My name is Lena Sullivan."

Lena extended her hand, and Steve glanced at it for a couple seconds before accepting the handshake.

"Steve Rogers," he introduced himself. Lena smiled again.

"So," she said as she pulled away, continuing to walk around the gym. "Why are you up so late destroying punching bags? Trouble sleeping?" She glanced over her shoulder.

"I slept for seventy years, ma'am. I think I've had my fill."

"Then you should be out celebrating!" Lena said, plopping down in a chair and crossing her legs. "Go out, see the world. It's a pretty awesome place, in my completely biased opinion."

She expected Steve to laugh, but had no such luck.

"When I went under," Steve said in a low voice, "The world was at war. I wake up, they say we won." He paused. "They didn't say what we lost."

Lena was silent for a few seconds, chewing on her bottom lip in thought.

"We're a bit screwed up," she admitted, "We've made some mistakes along the way. To be completely honest we've made some real big ones quite recently."

Steve glanced over at her as he began to remove the tape from his hands.

"Are you here with a mission, ma'am?"

Lena smirked. "How did you know?" She asked sarcastically.

Steve chuckled, tossing his tape away. "SHIELD's trying to get me back into the world. It wasn't hard to guess."

"We're not just trying to get you back into the world," Lena said.

Steve turned around and looked at her curiously when he heard the graveness in her tone. He noted that she didn't look cheerful and happy anymore, or trying to butter him up. She looked like a woman on a mission. Coincidentally enough, it was a look he was used to.

"We're trying to _save_ it," Lena continued, walking over and plopping a file on the table in front of him.

Steve looked through the file with a distraught expression.

"Hydra's secret weapon," he murmured upon seeing the picture of the Tesseract.

"Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you," Lena explained. "He and several others thought that that cube – the Tesseract – could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something this world sorely needs. However," Lena rolled her eyes, "They didn't exactly contemplate the potential consequences."

Steve chuckled, looking over at her. "You talk as if you're not part of this world."

Lena smirked, but didn't reply.

"Who took it from you?" Steve continued.

Lena took a deep breath. "His name is Loki," she replied. "He's… not from around here either."

"Either?" Steve asked in confusion.

Lena laughed. "There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on, Captain Rogers. That is, if you accept the mission. But I'm going to warn you now, the world is a lot stranger than you remember."

Steve scoffed, setting the file down and striding over to the punching bags. Lena followed him.

"At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me."

Lena laughed out loud at Steve's confidence, and he looked at her curiously.

"Oh, Steve," she said through her chortles, "I bet you ten bucks you're wrong. Just like I was."

Steve was confused, but didn't say anything else as he strode over to the punching bags and picked one up, slinging it over his shoulder as if it weighed nothing more than a paperclip.

"There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment," Lena called out to him. "Hey!"

Steve turned around slowly, looking at Lena with a very tired expression. For a man who said he'd had his fill of sleep, Steve Rogers looked like a very tired and lost man.

"You saw the Tesseract up close and personal," Lena stated. "Is there anything else you can tell us about it?"

"You should have left it in the ocean," Lena heard him mutter.

"Wait, wait!" Lena cried out, jogging over to him just before he left the door.

Steve sighed, turning around once again. Lena ran right up to him and was a bit shocked at just how massive the man was. His blonde hair was matted to his forehead, and his pretty blue eyes looked so lost.

"Captain Rogers," Lena said in a voice that boarded on pleading, "I know you don't know me at all and have no reason to give a damn about me, but I'm begging you," she paused, Steve looking down at her in confusion, "Please take this mission. Someone I care about very much was taken by Loki, and I'm not afraid to admit that I need all the help I can get to get him back safely."

Steve was silent, oddly moved by the mysterious girl's pleading.

"Please, Steve," Lena whispered, addressing him by his first name as if they were old friends. "Just look the file over and decide from there. SHIELD has made its mistakes and it'll continue to make more, but this mission? It's going after the right thing."

Steve took a deep breath. "You remind me of someone," he said randomly, making Lena cock her head to the side in confusion. "An old friend of mine. He was…" Steve looked over her head at the wall behind her, getting lost in his memories. "He loved his friends with everything he had. Always fought for them." Steve looked back down at Lena to see her touched expression. "I just hope you won't get let down by your friend the way I let mine down."

Lena smiled softly. "I have a feeling you tend to be a bit hard on yourself, Captain."

Steve didn't reply.

"Just take a look at that file, will you?" Lena asked, placing her hand on Steve's shoulder. A few seconds later she pulled away and began to stride out of the room.

Steve noted to himself that that was the first time someone had spoken to him like a normal human being in this century, and not like a lab rat to be studied or someone to be tiptoed around. And it was because of that that he had already made up his mind to take the mission and help Lena Sullivan. His lips quirked up in the first real smile he had had since he'd come out of the ice.

**xXxXx**

"How was Captain Rogers?" Coulson asked in as casual of a voice as he could muster as Lena stepped off of her motorcycle and walked over to him, her neck craning backwards to look up at the massive Stark Tower. She turned to Coulson and chuckled.

"You know Coulson, you don't have to hide your fanboying from me. I have no judgement."

"And I have the feeling that's not true."

Lena laughed, following Phil into the Stark Tower lobby.

"Did you call him?" Lena asked.

"Yes. But of course he didn't answer."

"Of course he didn't," Lena said with a sigh. They walked over to the elevators and Coulson used a fancy SHIELD gadget to override Stark's security and send them up to the top floor.

Lena's face fell in nostalgia as she remembered being with Clint on the elevators during their mission in Dubai, back when they were both fighting each other on their feelings. That mission had only been a couple months ago, but it felt like a lifetime.

"Hey," Coulson nudged her elbow. Lena looked up at him with a startled expression. "You okay?"

Lena forced a smile. "I'll be okay when we get Clint back."

"We will," Phil said confidently, and that was all it took for Lena to believe those words.

"Give me that phone," Lena said suddenly as the elevator continued to go up more floors, reaching over and taking it from Coulson, redialing Tony Stark's direct line.

"_Mr. Stark is unavailable right now_," JARVIS' voice said, and Lena rolled her eyes. She pulled the phone back and pressed several buttons, SHIELD's technology actually working over Tony Stark's for once.

As JARVIS' protocols were overridden, Lena heard Tony's smug voice over the line.

"_You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark, please leave a message."_

"Tony, this is urgent," Lena said bluntly.

"_Maggie_ _Pie_!" Tony shouted happily, using that ridiculous nickname he had given her when they'd first met, and Lena rolled her eyes. "_While it is great to hear your know-it-all voice, I'm going to have to make you leave your urgent business urgently."_

The elevator doors chose that moment to open, and Lena and Coulson stood there looking at Stark, who was sitting next to Pepper Potts, with expressions of pure ironic amusement.

"Security breach," Tony said shortly as he held his hands up exasperatedly.

"Phil! Lena! Come in," Pepper said happily, standing up and walking over.

"Phil?" Tony echoed, trailing after Pepper like a puppy, "Uh, his first name is Agent."

"And what about me?" Lena asked, raising her eyebrows at Tony.

"Well I like to call you Maggie Pie, Miss _Magdalena_ Sullivan, so you don't count," he said in his typical amusing yet irritating manner.

Lena's eyes narrowed and she took a deep breath to keep from launching herself at the man. He stood there grinning though, and Lena accepted that she just had to take his annoying jokes and roll with them. That was Tony Stark for you – he would tease you relentlessly, but if you were his friend he would do anything in the world for you. Granted, he would also rub that in your face, but that was beside the point.

"Come on in, we're celebrating," Pepper said politely as Lena and Phil stepped further into the room.

"Which is why you can't stay," Tony grinned smugly. "Except you, Maggie Pie, you can stay. Pepper and I have actually been talking about ways to spice things up in the bedroom, so if you were maybe interested in–"

"Please," Lena shook her head and held up her hand, pursing her lips, "Don't finish that sentence."

"We need you to look this over as soon as possible," Phil said, ignoring the banter. He tried to hand a tablet over to Tony, who sighed and shook his head.

"I don't like being handed things," he said childishly.

"That's alright, because I love to be handed things," Pepper said brightly. "So let's trade." She passed her glass of champagne over to Coulson, took the tablet from him, and then passed the tablet right over to Tony. Lena had to bite her lip to try and stifle her laugh.

"You know I love the way you handle him," Lena remarked to Pepper. "It's like watching a puppy get trained."

"It feels like that sometimes too," Pepper muttered before shooting Tony a prize-winning grin.

"Maggie Pie, if you like the way she handles me, you should really consider that offer I gave earlier, because let me tell you, in the bedroom she really knows how to–"

"Oh God, give me that," Lena muttered, reaching over and grabbing the champagne glass, downing it in one gulp.

"Coulson, you're driving her to drink," Tony continued to joke, taking the tablet and walking over to one of his many computer stations. "And by the way, official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday."

"This isn't a consultation," Lena called out as she handed the empty glass back to Coulson, who took it with a roll of his eyes.

"Is this about the Avengers?" Pepper suddenly asked. Coulson and Lena both looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Which I know nothing about," she tried to recover quickly.

"The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought," Tony called out. "And I didn't even qualify."

"I didn't know that either," Pepper remarked.

"Yeah. Apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, don't play well with others…"

"That I did know," Pepper said matter-of-factly.

"Everyone knows that," Lena muttered.

"Oh come on Maggie Pie, you love my self-obsession. And if you really want to see how well I play with others my offer still stands."

"This isn't about personality profiles anymore," Coulson called out.

"Whatever," Tony muttered. "Miss Potts, got a minute?" Pepper held up a finger to Coulson and Lena as she turned and strode over to Tony.

Lena sighed, turning her back to the couple and facing Phil.

"He has to come in on this," she said quietly where only he could hear her, "The Iron Man suit would be one of the biggest advantages we could have against Loki. If he turns this down–"

"He won't," Coulson assured her.

"How can you be sure?"

"Just trust me on this."

"Wait a minute," Tony called out suddenly, and both SHIELD agents turned to look at him. "Is this _you_, Maggie Pie?"

Lena's eyes trailed over to the several holograms he had playing above them. She saw footage reels of the Hulk destroying Culver University, Captain America fighting in World War II, Natasha and Clint back to back fighting in what she assumed was Budapest (she still hadn't gotten that whole story), and then she, Clint, and Thor fighting the Destroyer. She flinched at the sight of her brother that she missed so much, and the man she had feelings for that wasn't even the same man anymore.

"Oh, yeah," she said offhandedly. "That's me."

"I thought you were just a SHIELD agent," Tony said in a clipped voice.

"I am," Lena nodded.

"That," Tony pointed up as the footage cut to Lena protecting the little girl from the exploding gas station with a force field from her staff, "Is not something 'just a SHIELD agent' can do."

Lena shrugged. "I get perks. Being the daughter of Odin and all."

"Wait a minute, that wasn't a joke?" Tony asked incredulously.

Lena laughed. "Just read over all of that and let me know if you still think it's a joke or not," she said.

Tony muttered something under his breath that Lena didn't catch before he turned and began speaking quietly with Pepper. A minute or two later the couple parted ways with a kiss that had Lena missing Clint even more, then Pepper asked if Coulson could give her a ride to which he agreed. They left together, and Lena was just pulling out the keys to her motorcycle to depart as well when Tony called her name.

"Maggie Pie," he said, waving a hand over. Lena rolled her eyes, but joined him in front of the computers all the same.

"What is it, Stark?" She asked in a tired voice.

"This guy," he pointed at the footage of Lena and Clint loading the school bus of kids in New Mexico during the Destroyer's attack in Puente Antigua, "Is also this guy," he moved his finger over and pointed at the footage of Loki pressing his spear into Clint's chest.

Lena tensed, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. "Yes," she said in a strained voice.

Tony turned and looked at her with a thoughtful expression. "You two are partners?"

"Something like that," Lena said tightly.

"Oh," Tony said in understanding, "So you two are _more_ than partners."

"Something like that," Lena repeated. "Is there something you want to say, Stark?"

Stark looked down at her, narrowing his eyes as if he were reading code. "I always want to say something, but for once I think I'll keep it to myself." Lena's eyes widened in genuine surprise and also a bit of gratefulness.

"Thank you," she said honestly.

Tony nodded. "So about that offer, are you sure you're not interested–"

"Oh shutup, Stark."

**xXxXx**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**A/N: This chapter was pretty fun to write albeit quite difficult with all of the action scenes, but I hope I made you guys proud! We get to see some Lena x Mind Controlled Clint action in this chapter, so that's sad/exciting. Leave a review and let me know what you think, I appreciate every single review and try to reply to everyone! Enjoy the chapter! **

**xXxXx**

"_You're nothing."_

"_Clint, please," Lena begged. _

"_You think I actually gave a damn about you?" Clint hissed, his possessed blue eyes glowing bright and menacing. "You aren't even human!"_

_Tears streamed down Lena's face where she was kneeled down, her eyes squinting shut as Clint pressed the barrel of a gun up against her temple. _

"_This isn't you," Lena gasped, her shoulders moving up and down with each painful breath. "This is Loki controlling you. You're a good man, Clint. You have people who love you and care about you. Fury, Coulson, Natasha–"_

"_You know I slept with Natasha," Clint said suddenly. Lena's breath caught in her throat and she craned her neck back to look up at him, her lip quivering upon seeing his cruel smirk. "And let me tell you, she was a lot better lay than you."_

_Lena inhaled shakily, squinting her eyes to try and still her tears. She lowered her head back down and muttered, "You're lying."_

"_Oh but I'm not," Clint sneered, crouching down next to her while keeping the gun pressed hard against the side of her head. "I touched her body, kissed her lips, and loved her more than I ever pretended to care about you. You're just some bratty little princess trying to convince herself she's human," he whispered in her ear. _

"_You're lying!" Lena shook her head furiously. _

_Clint laughed. "Keep telling yourself that," he said as he stood to his full height. "Maybe it will give you some comfort as you die." _

_Lena squinted her eyes tightly as he pulled the trigger_.

"Miss Sullivan."

Lena awoke with a sharp inhale, blinking rapidly to reorient herself. She let out a deep breath upon seeing Steve Rogers crouched down in front of her with a hand lightly touching her shoulder.

"Shit," Lena murmured, sitting up straighter in her seat on the Quinjet and rubbing her hands over her face. Steve stood to his full height and continued to look down at her in concern. "How long was I out?"

"Not long," he answered. Lena looked him up and down, noting that he dressed like an old man in a really hot young man's body. Which was a pretty accurate description of him. "You were twitching like you were having a bad dream though."

Lena chuckled bitterly, standing up and stretching, her joints popping and cracking with the movement.

"I'm pretty sure my whole life is a bad dream at this point," she muttered.

Steve didn't reply to that as he sat back down while Lena stretched her aching body. She looked over at where Coulson was talking to the pilot at the front of the Quinjet. She chuckled, looking back over at Steve.

"Let me guess," she began, "He's already creeped you out."

Steve chuckled, giving her an adorably crooked smile. "Just a little bit. He's a good man, though."

"Yeah well," Lena sat down beside him, "I'd say you're a pretty good judge of character in that department. You know, considering."

Steve watched her curiously as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths.

"Agent Barton," he finally said, making Lena snap her eyes open and turn to him, "He was the friend you were talking about last night in the gym, wasn't he? The one Loki took."

Lena took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. He's the one."

"And you two are…" he trailed off, his eyes trying to imply his question without actually saying it.

Lena chuckled. "Romantically involved?" She provided. Steve nodded. "We were. And then I kind of blew it."

"Well I know how you feel," Steve murmured, looking down at the tablet Coulson had given him where various footage of all the other Avengers was playing like it had been back at Stark Tower.

"So you could have mentioned yesterday that you're from outer space."

Lena barked out a genuine laugh at Steve's bluntness. "Yeah well, I like to be mysterious," she waggled her eyebrows at him. "And I wouldn't really say 'outer space,' per se. I'm technically from another _realm_," she clarified.

"That sounds like outer space to me."

"Fair point," Lena conceded. "And I'm sure you've read by now that Thor and Loki are my brothers?"

Steve nodded. "Kind of interesting how two siblings are on the good team and the other one is the enemy." He narrowed his eyes. "You sure there won't be any conflicting interests?"

Lena narrowed her eyes right back at him, all traces of humor gone. "Let me be very clear, Captain," she said in a dark tone, "I have absolutely no familial sympathy towards Loki. I watched him kill several agents I knew, _good_ agents, right before he turned Clint into his own personal slave just to spite me. And if we're going to be technical, he isn't even really my brother. Loki is a madman with murder on his mind, and trust me when I say I won't hesitate to kill him when I get the chance."

Steve seemed taken aback at the fierceness of her words.

"And while I can't speak for Thor since I haven't heard from him in months," Lena continued, a sadness appearing in her blue-green eyes, "I believe that he'd say something quite similar. But what do I know?" She muttered, "All I've been getting from him is radio silence. I'm not counting on Thor to come and take care of Loki, so I'm going to do it myself."

"Well I'm glad you know where your loyalties lie," Steve said. "SHIELD is lucky to have you."

Lena gave him a meek smile, pulling one knee up to her chest and propping her chin on it. A few silent seconds passed between them.

"Yesterday," Lena finally spoke again, "You said that I reminded you of an old friend. Were you talking about Bucky?"

Lena immediately felt bad when she saw Steve flinch.

"How do you know about Bucky?"

"I read about him in your file," Lena explained. "James Buchanan Barnes. He seemed like a really great man. If that's who you were comparing me to, I'm quite flattered."

Steve smiled sadly. "Yeah, he was a good man. Better than me, but he'd fight me on that."

A tense silence fell over them, and Lena reached over and placed her hand gently over Steve's. He looked up at her in surprise.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Lena said, and Steve knew that her words were one-hundred percent heartfelt. "All of it."

"Thank you," Steve replied. "And I'm sorry for yours."

"I appreciate that," Lena whispered. "Well we're a bunch of sad saps, aren't we?"

Steve laughed. "Yeah, I guess we are."

Just then, the Quinjet rumbled as it landed. Lena and Steve both glanced at each other one more time before standing up. Coulson walked over and led them out of the plane as the back opened up.

The wind immediately began whipping Lena's hair around and she made a noise of irritation as she pulled it back in a ponytail. As they stepped onto the Helicarrier, her gaze immediately went to Natasha.

"Nat," Lena breathed out, running over to her friend. And even though Natasha Romanoff wasn't a big fan of friendly hugging, she gladly wrapped her arms around Lena and held onto her tight.

"Are you okay?" Natasha asked as she pulled back, looking deep into Lena's eyes and trying to get a read on her. "I know you've been asked that a hundred times, but I'm asking again anyways."

"I'm fine," Lena said with a nod. "We're doing something, we have a plan of action. This will work. Right?"

Natasha nodded, squeezing Lena's hand tightly. The two girls gave each other encouraging looks before walking back over to Coulson and Rogers.

"Steve, meet Agent Natasha Romanoff," Lena introduced the two.

"Ma'am," Steve said politely, giving her a curt nod.

"Hi," Natasha said bluntly, and Lena had to keep from chuckling at her terseness. "They need you on the bridge," she turned to Coulson.

"See you there," Coulson said to Steve and Lena before walking away and leaving the three alone. They began to walk towards the railing of the ship casually, and Lena kept her arms crossed and a tight expression on her face as she caught herself accidentally scanning the bridge for Clint like she always did.

"There was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice," Natasha said casually to Steve. "I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?"

"Trading cards?" Steve asked incredulously.

Lena chuckled. "Oh yeah," she told him. "They're vintage. He's very proud."

Just then, they looked ahead and saw none other than Dr. Bruce Banner stumbling about the bridge, practically exuding awkwardness. Lena couldn't help but chuckle. Banner's file only talked about how brilliant he was and of course gave all the information SHIELD had on his scary green alter ego, but she could see now that he was basically just a big nervous dork. When he wasn't angry.

"Dr. Banner," Steve called out, walking up to the man and extending his hand.

"Oh, yeah, hi," Banner spluttered out, accepting the handshake. "They told me you'd be coming."

"Word is you can find the cube," Steve said in a very soldier-like tone. Natasha and Lena glanced at each other.

"Is that the… only word on me?" Banner asked nervously, pursing his lips together. Lena's brow drew together at his tone of shame.

"It's the only word I care about," Steve said firmly, and Lena smiled in admiration. Steve Rogers was one damn good man.

Banner seemed appreciative, and Lena took the lull in conversation to step forward and introduce herself.

"Dr. Banner," she said with a kind smile, shaking his hand as well, "I'm Agent Lena Sullivan. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Dr. Banner nodded gawkily. "Lena Sullivan. You're the Asgardian," he stated in slight awe.

"Well, _half_-Asgardian if we're going to be technical," she shrugged. "But yeah."

"Fascinating," he said in a bewildered voice. "Has anyone at SHIELD ran blood tests on you? The files I read on you said you have amazing tissue regeneration tendencies, if you would let me–"

"Dr. Banner, I'm going to stop you there," Lena interrupted as she held out a hand, "While I recognize that that might be really great for modern science, I've made a deal with SHIELD that nobody gets their hands on my blood or tissue. Quite frankly, I wouldn't want it falling into the wrong hands and someone taking it to try and make a repeat of this one," she jerked her thumb over at Steve, whose cheeks flushed red, "Because you of all people know how badly that can turn out."

Lena tried to say it as kindly as she could, but Bruce ducked his head shamefully all the same.

"No, of course," he nodded. "I apologize."

"No apology needed, Doctor," Lena said with a smile.

"So," Bruce said after a silent beat, turning back to Steve, "This must be strange for you, all of this," he gestured to all of the agents and military personnel running around the Helicarrier.

"Well, this is actually kind of familiar," Steve remarked nostalgically.

"Gentlemen," Natasha stepped forward, "You may wanna step inside. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe," she said with a smirk.

Suddenly, the Helicarrier started to shake as the engines whirred to life. Lena rolled her eyes and turned to Natasha.

"Did you time that purposefully?" She asked. Natasha just grinned and threw her a wink.

"Is this a submarine?" Steve asked as he and Banner started walking towards the edge.

"Really?" Bruce asked incredulously. "They want _me_ in a submerged pressurized metal container?"

"Oh please, boys," Lena remarked as she followed them. "A submarine would be _way_ too simple for SHIELD."

The three of them looked over the edge as the huge engines began to take off at insanely high speeds and the Helicarrier lifted into the air, taking flight.

"Oh no," Bruce yelled over the sound of the wind and engines, "This is much worse."

Lena laughed, walking in between the boys and placing a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Come on!" She shouted over the noise. "They need us on the main bridge!"

The three of them plus Natasha all left the edge and headed towards the main bridge. Lena sighed and let her hair back down once they were inside. They walked through a set of sliding doors and entered, Lena and Natasha grinning at each other as they took in Steve and Banner's shocked expressions. The bay was massive, tons of agents busying about and working on computers, Nick Fury and Maria standing on the main platform, and an endless sky out the huge window ahead of them.

"Let's vanish," Fury suddenly announced.

"Oh, this is my favorite part," Lena leaned over and whispered in Steve's ear.

The Helicarrier continued to rise higher into the sky as the entire ship covered itself in reflective mirrors that literally turned the entire ship into flying camouflage.

Lena turned back to Steve with a smirk. "Pretty cool, right?"

Wordlessly, Steve pulled his wallet out of his back pocket without taking his eyes off the scene in front of him. He pulled out a wrinkled ten dollar bill, passing it to Lena with a blank look.

"Thank you very much," Lena said, taking the bill and shoving it in her own pocket. She had known Steve would lose their little bet, she just hadn't realized it would be so soon. He hadn't even seen her use her staff yet.

"Gentlemen," Fury turned towards them. He looked to Bruce specifically and said, "Doctor, thank you for coming."

Banner pursed his lips and avoided eye contact. "Thanks for asking nicely. So uh, how long am I staying?"

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear."

Bruce, Fury, and Coulson continued to talk about the cube as Lena walked over to where Natasha was looking at a computer screen that was tracking Clint.

"Anything?" Lena crouched down next to her. Natasha shook her head.

"Nothing."

Lena sighed, biting down on her lip. "He's smart. If Loki doesn't want him to be found, he won't be found."

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet," Coulson suddenly said to Bruce. Natasha and Lena both turned to look at him. "Cellphones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

"That's still not going to find him in time," Lena said as she stood up. "Loki's thought this through."

"You have to narrow your field," Banner said as he took off his coat and began rolling up his sleeves. "How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"How many are there?" Fury asked.

"Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays," Bruce said, showing confidence for the first time since arriving. "I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places."

"I can help in that department," Lena said, catching everyone's eye. "I mean, I'm not a radiation expert or anything, but I do have this thing." She held her hand out and her staff flew out of her weapon's belt into her hand. Steve and Banner's eyes widened. "Dr. Selvig found readings on this baby that matched the cube's. That can help with your algorithm thingy, right?"

"Actually, yes," Banner said with wide eyes before turning back to Fury. "Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

"Agent Sullivan, would you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please? And offer him any of that infinite Asgardian knowledge that you can, would you?"

Lena rolled her eyes as she began to lead Banner out of the room. "You're never going to let that go, are you Nicky?" She muttered.

**xXxXx**

Half an hour later, Lena was spinning around in a chair restlessly while watching Banner be all science-y.

"Is it working?" She asked.

"Yes," Bruce answered as he typed furiously away on his computer, his eyes darting between screens and her staff behind his round glasses. "That staff of yours made making this tracking algorithm much easier."

"So you're done using it?" Lena inquired.

"Oh," Bruce glanced over his shoulder at her, "Yes, I'm done with it. I made sure to record all of the necessary radiation levels and–"

"Sweet," Lena cut him off as she stood up, extending her hand and sending her staff sailing into her hand. Bruce jumped and she chuckled. "Sorry Doc," she said as she left the room abruptly and headed back to the bridge.

"Location?" She heard Coulson ask someone as she came through the double doors. Steve turned to look at her and gave her a curt nod that she returned.

"Stuttgart, Germany," Sitwell answered Coulson as he looked at a computer screen. "He's not exactly hiding."

"You found Loki?" Lena asked, rushing over to Sitwell's computer and bending over to look at the screen. Footage of Loki walking past an ATM wearing fancy Midgardian attire played. "That doesn't make any sense," she whispered. "He must want to be found. That's the only reason he would walk out and about like that."

"Well if he wants to be found, we'll gladly find him," Fury said darkly.

"What about Clint?" Lena whirled around. "Any signs of him?"

"No sign of Agent Barton yet."

"He's got to be close by. Loki needs Clint's skillset. He'll be near, I know it."

"Well in that case Agent Sullivan, you'll be joining Captain Rogers."

Steve turned to look up at Fury. "Sir?"

"You're up, Captain," Fury said firmly. "And so are you, Sparkstrike."

**xXxXx**

Lena walked slowly into one of the many locker rooms on the Helicarrier, breathing deeply as she approached the case holding her suit. The lights above it came on slowly, and she took an even deeper breath as she saw her new, upgraded suit for the first time.

The Sparkstrike suit was amazing. There was no other way to describe it. It was silver – of course – and perfectly tailored to her body. Stripes of black ran up the sides, a zipper in the middle that went up her chest. There was a matching set of gloves with the finger pads cut off that would give her a better grip and handle on her staff.

A wide grin overcame Lena's face.

"Finally."

**xXxXx**

Steve looked at Lena in surprise as she joined him in the Quinjet. He couldn't help but look her up and down just briefly before looking away with bright red cheeks. Her suit left little to the imagination, and she looked stunningly fierce in it. Like a true warrior.

Lena on the other hand had no reservations about checking Steve out in his Captain America getup.

"Wow," she said appraisingly. "I'm digging the stars and stripes, Cap'n Crunch."

"What?" Steve cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"It's a cereal," Lena explained. "Actually you know what, just forget it," she waved him off when he only looked more confused. "Hey Nat," Lena called out as she walked up to the front of the plane where Natasha was in the co-pilot's seat flipping buttons and whatnot preparing for them to take off. "What's the word?"

"We're right over Stuttgart, we'll be there in three minutes or less," Natasha replied as she and the other pilot flew the Quinjet off of the Helicarrier and down through the clouds to the city below them.

"And Clint?"

"We caught sight of him not even a minute ago on a traffic cam outside of the museum Loki just went into." Natasha paused. "He had his bow."

"Shit," Lena muttered. "Loki's probably using him to take out security for whatever the hell he's trying to get to. What's the game plan?"

"Drop Agent Sullivan first," Steve answered, making Lena turn to him with a raised eyebrow. "Let her down as close as you can to Barton, then take me to the front of the museum. You take Barton down whatever way you can, and I'll deal with Loki."

"Captain," Lena said in a grave voice, stepping towards him, "Loki isn't like anyone you've ever dealt with before. His spear is dangerous, don't let him place it anywhere near your chest or you'll be a walking Loki-zombie too. He's sneaky, he has these disappearing acts, and–"

"Lena," Steve interrupted with a small smile, "I appreciate the concern, but this is what I do."

Lena exhaled slowly, nodding. "Sorry. I just… I feel responsible for everything Loki's doing. He's my brother."

"You're not responsible for his actions," Steve assured her. "But you are responsible for doing your part now to stop him. So am I. So we're going to take him out so that you can get your… _friend_ back."

Lena narrowed her eyes playfully. "You know I get the feeling that you're way more aware of everything and everyone than you let on to be, Captain."

Steve didn't say anything, only smiled.

"Alright Sparkstrike, you're up," Natasha suddenly yelled over her shoulder.

Lena turned her head as the tail end of the plane opened up. She whipped her staff out of her belt and walked to the opening as the Quinjet lowered over top of the roof of the museum.

"Sparkstrike," Captain called out, and Lena looked over her shoulder at him, her hair whipping all around her face. "Be careful. Stay focused on the mission."

"Well, Captain," Lena said matter-of-factly as she walked backwards towards the fifteen foot drop at the end of the Quinjet. "While I appreciate the concern, this is what I do."

Steve rolled his eyes as she echoed his words from earlier. She laughed at his expression before jumping backwards out of the jet.

Lena fell into a crouch as she landed on the roof, flipping her hair back and throwing a thumbs up to the Quinjet to let them know she was good. Natasha waggled the wings one time before flying off into the night to drop Steve. Lena stood up slowly, surveying the area around her.

"Widow, you copy?" Lena spoke into her earpiece.

"_Copy, Sparkstrike. Report as soon as you get eyes on Barton."_

"Got it."

Lena walked to the edge of the roof, her ears picking up the faint sounds of classical music playing in the museum below.

"What the hell are you at a museum gala for, Loki?" Lena whispered to herself, trying and failing to figure out his game plan.

"Hey!"

Lena whipped around, pulling out her staff as a security guard appeared behind her. Lena sighed as she saw him holding his gun up towards her, a nervous gait to his every step.

"Oh great," she muttered under her breath. "Look guy, I really don't have the time to deal with you right now."

"You can't be up here," the guard said as he stepped towards her nervously, eyeing her outfit with a wary expression. "Who are you?"

"Well that's a good question," Lena said lightly, not concerned in the slightest. "Depends on who asks, honestly."

"Well I'm asking," the guard shot back, trying to sound tough. "Now tell me who y–"

Lena gasped as an arrow suddenly embedded itself in the guard's chest, sending him sprawling to the ground dead.

"Shit," Lena gasped, spinning around into a crouch as she heard more arrows sailing through the air around her. She watched as other guards on the roof went down, a few of them falling over and into the alleys below.

"Dammit Clint," she cursed, running across the roof in the direction the arrows were coming from. "Widow, I've got eyes on Barton. I repeat, eyes on Barton," she said into her earpiece. She got to the edge of the roof and looked over, seeing Clint standing in the lit portion of an alley right below her.

Lena gulped upon seeing him. Even from the roof of the museum she could make out the terrifyingly bright blue in his eyes and the blank expression on his face. That was not the Clint Barton she knew and cared for.

There was no way she had gone undetected if he had shot the guard she had been speaking to, but Lena could tell that he didn't see her anymore. She watched from the rooftop as he gestured to two other possessed agents that she vaguely recognized before crossing over to a small building attached to the museum.

"Alright Clint. Time to come home," Lena murmured under her breath as she ran over to a fire escape that was out of his line of sight.

There was a ladder that went down to just six or seven feet above the street, and Lena put both hands and both feet on the railings, sliding down to the alley below in one swoop. She jumped the last few feet gracefully, turning on her heel and running to the corner of the building that Clint was trying to get into.

Lena peered her head around the corner slowly to see Clint raising an odd device up to the retinal scanner and attaching it there.

"What the hell?" Lena whispered.

Suddenly screams erupted from inside the museum and Lena whipped her head around. Loki must have made his move and done something horrible. And while Lena wanted to run inside and stop him, she had to have faith that Steve would do his job while she did hers.

With a sigh, Lena turned to look back around the corner only to scream.

Clint grabbed her by the throat before Lena could even raise her staff, throwing her to the ground several feet away from him. Lena choked on her own breath as she jumped to her feet, raising her staff.

"Deal with her," Clint said to one of the other possessed agents as he walked away back to the retinal scanner.

"_Deal_ with me?" Lena asked incredulously before laughing bitterly. "Oh no, you don't get to walk away from me anymore, Clint Barton."

Lena slung her staff out and sent it sailing through the air where it sent the two other possessed agents sprawling to the ground. She called Gríðarvölr back to her instantly, raising it up and bringing it down towards Clint's head.

Clint spun around with his uncanny speed, raising his bow and deflecting her staff. Lena ducked his next punch, spinning around and hitting him in the back with the long side of her weapon. But Clint had seen that coming and ripped an arrow out of his quiver, spinning around in a crouch and jamming the point deep into the side of her leg.

"Ah!" Lena screamed, falling down to a knee. Clint took that chance to raise his foot and kick her right in the face, sending her to the ground.

Lena's head hit the pavement hard, and she vaguely registered Clint calling the downed agents over to him as they slowly stood back up. Lena blinked away the stars in her eyes as she sat up, seeing that the door to the other building had opened as the device created an image of a…

_Is that a live eye?_ Lena thought to herself in disgust.

Clint was just walking out of the building as Lena finally managed to stand up. She ripped the arrow out of her thigh with a painful grunt.

"Take this," Clint said in his scary monotonous voice, handing one of the agents a metal cylinder. The agent accepted it and he and the other agent disappeared around the corner. Lena wanted to stop them, but that wasn't her mission.

The man in front of her was her mission.

"Clint," Lena said slowly as he reached for his bow leisurely. "This isn't you. Look at my face, look into my eyes. You know me, you care about me. I'm not your enemy. Loki's messing with your mind."

"Loki's freeing my mind," Clint said blandly, and Lena visibly flinched at how unlike Clint he sounded. Had the possession taken such deep roots in his mind that he would ever even be able to break through?

Suddenly there was a loud crashing noise and Lena turned to watch a car go screeching by them turned up on its hood.

"What the–"

Clint used Lena's distraction to jump at her, swinging his bow hard at her face. Lena grunted as it caught her cheek, but she moved quickly to spin around and use a force field to send Clint staggering backwards.

"Clint!" Lena shouted as she deflected an arrow he shot at her. "Clint use your head, dammit! This isn't you!"

Lena just barely managed to throw up another force field in time to stop an arrow from impaling her gut. She made a noise of irritation and slung her staff to the side hard, sending it flying in a spinning motion like a blade on a helicopter. It hit Clint right in the chest, sending him crashing down to the ground flat on his back.

Lena moved quickly, calling her staff to her and jumping on top of Clint, straddling him with her knees and pressing her staff down sideways against his throat. He looked up at her with his eerie blue eyes, seething.

With a jolt, Lena's entire body locked up. Here she was, holding a weapon to Clint's throat with every intent to take him out. Loki's possession on his mind had actually convinced her that this wasn't Clint Francis Barton, the good, kindhearted, passionate, and loyal man that she adored with all of her heart. But that he was a real enemy.

"Clint," Lena choked out, her eyes glazing over. "Clint I need you to see me," she begged. "I'm–"

She was cut off as Clint jerked his knee upwards and grabbed Lena by the shoulders to send her flipping over his head and onto her back behind him. The breath was knocked from her chest and when she looked up, Clint was towering over her with an arrow aimed right at her heart.

Time seemed to freeze then. Lena could hardly breathe as she stared up at him.

"This isn't you," Lena finally said softly. She kept expecting the arrow to be released, but Clint simply stared down at her with his unnerving eyes. "Clint, look at me. It's me, Lena. You care about me, Clint. Remember Dubai?" She implored, trying to use memories to bring some sort of his semblance of self to the surface. "Remember in Dubai when we went to the ball? I was wearing that purple dress and you were wearing a black tux and we danced?"

Clint's hands began to shake, and a swell of hope rose in Lena's chest. She was getting through to him, she just knew it.

"What about when we first got together?" Lena continued, her confidence growing. "You came over and we yelled at each other and then you told me about your brother Barney." A flare of frustration and anger crossed Clint's face and Lena quickly moved on. "A-And then we had the most amazing night together. You made breakfast for me the next morning and made fun of my lack of cooking skills. Remember all the times we snuck into Fitzsimmons lab to make out so nobody would see us, and Fitz screamed when he walked in on us one day? Do you remember defending me from Rumlow way back when? Or the day we first met out in Puente Antigua? Do you remember buying me that horrible sandwich at the compound and offering me a job?"

Clint's entire body was shaking now and Lena could see his knuckles turning white where he was gripping his bow so tightly.

"Clint," Lena whispered, pure and raw emotion all over her face. "Please. You're stronger than Loki. Fight this. Fight for _me_," she begged.

It was those words that seemed to finally push Clint's willpower over the edge. Lena stared at him with her mouth parted in shock as he blinked rapidly, the blue in his eyes slowly subsiding.

"Lena?" He whispered, slowly lowering his bow.

"Clint," Lena breathed out with a sigh of relief. "Yes, it's me, I–"

Just then the pair heard several people screaming, and they both looked to the end of the alley as a horde of people went running by in terror. Lena jerked her head back to Clint to see that the blue had returned to his eyes.

"No," she gasped. "No, no! Clint–"

But it was too late. Whatever hope she'd had of bringing Clint back on her own was gone as he raised his bow back up without any hesitation. Lena rolled to the side just quickly enough for the arrow to go straight into her shoulder through and through. She screamed in pain and fell to her knees. She barely managed to call her staff to her and whip back around, but Clint was nowhere to be seen.

"Dammit," Lena cursed. Clint must've been under orders from Loki to go back to wherever they were hiding out. And she knew Clint well enough to know that she couldn't possibly track him at that point. He was long gone.

Lena turned and saw more and more people running away from the square in front of the museum. She stood to her feet and began running in that direction, breaking the tip of the arrow in her shoulder off so that she could pull it out painfully and throw it to the ground, hoping her body would heal quicker than usual.

As she made her way through the throngs of screaming civilians, she saw Steve and Loki fighting, the Quinjet hovering above them looking for a clear shot.

"_Sparkstrike, quit standing there like an idiot_," Lena heard Natasha say inside her earpiece.

Jumping into action, Lena lengthened her staff as far as it would go and rushed over to the fight. "Hey!" She shouted, making Loki turn and look at her. She swung her staff mightily and sent a large force field flying at Loki's face, knocking him into the air. Cap used that opportunity to do a flip and bring his foot down on Loki's chest sending him down to the ground.

"Cap!" Lena shouted, using a force field to fling Steve's SHIELD soaring through the air to him from where it lay several feet away. Steve caught it effortlessly, moving to bring it down on top of Loki, but Loki disappeared into thin air.

Lena huffed. "Son of a–"

She never got to finish that thought as she was knocked to the ground, Loki hitting her with his scepter. Lena immediately rolled onto her back and jumped back up to her feet. She twirled her staff around her back while pivoting around on her foot and managed to catch Loki in the side with a hard blow. He grunted in pain and backhanded her – hard – sending her flying several feet away from him and into Cap where they both crashed to the ground.

The two heroes both jumped to their feet, and Cap threw his SHIELD at Loki like a lethal Frisbee, but Loki only knocked it to the ground with his scepter. He shot a blast of energy at the pair just seconds after Lena threw a force field at him, and all three went crashing to the ground.

Lena was pulling herself up by her forearms when suddenly, out of nowhere, AC/DC's 'Shoot to Thrill' started blaring from the Quinjet's speakers.

"What the hell?" Lena murmured, looking up into the sky. "Oh," she said blandly upon realizing who it was. "Of course."

Tony Stark came soaring through the air and onto the scene in his red and gold Iron Man suit as Lena and Cap managed to stand to their feet. Using his arc reactor blasters, Tony sent Loki crashing down into the ground as if he were a rag doll. Tony landed not-so-gracefully in front of the madman, opening up every single piece of weaponry his suit contained and pointing it at him.

"Make a move, Reindeer Games," Tony said threateningly as Cap and Lena walked up on either side of him. Well, Cap walked and Lena limped.

Surprisingly, Loki held his hands up in surrender, his armor materializing away.

"Good move," Tony said, putting away the weapons.

"Mr. Stark," Steve greeted tersely.

"Cap'n," Tony replied with a nod. "Maggie Pie, how are you?"

Lena glared over at him with a fierce, expression that clearly said, 'don't fuck with me.' Blood ran down her face, arm, and leg.

"Right, wrong time," Tony muttered behind his mask.

"Get his ass onto the Quinjet," Lena said darkly, motioning for Steve to take care of Loki. Without another word, she turned on her heel and began to walk towards the Quinjet where it had landed in the middle of the square.

She may have let Clint get away, but it was about damn time Lena had a little sit down with Loki.

**xXxXx**

**A/N: Oooooh, so intense. What did you guys think? Next chapter we see Thor come back and I think you guys can safely assume that it's going to be a WILD chapter with all 3 siblings together again. I'm going to churn it out as soon as possible, I'm actually going to start working on it the second after I post this update, so stay tuned! Xoxo **


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**A/N: So I am in LOVE with this chapter, and I hope you guys are too. We finally get to see all three siblings back together again which is AWESOME. Oh and by the way, I'm almost at 100 reviews! That's completely insane, I'm so overwhelmed. I started this story out of a love for Clint Barton and a need for stress relief, and I've gotten such great support from it. I appreciate each and every person who takes the time to read my story. Thank you all! Alright, enough of my rambling, enjoy the chapter!**

**xXxXx**

"_Has he said anything_?" Nick Fury asked through Lena's earpiece.

Lena sighed, glaring over at where Loki was handcuffed and sitting quietly on the opposite side of the Quinjet from where she, Tony, and Steve were standing. Natasha piloted the plane away from Stuttgart and back to the Helicarrier.

"Not a word," Lena answered Fury, eerily perturbed by Loki's willingness to comply with their demands at this juncture.

"_Just get him here," _Furysaid_. "We're low on time." _

"I don't like it," Steve said suddenly. Lena turned to look at him, his handsome face visible as well as Tony's. Both heroes had taken their masks off and looked tense. Well, Steve looked tense. Tony looked relaxed as always, and Lena looked like she was in pain – and she was.

"What?" Tony asked. "Rock of Ages giving up so easily?"

"I don't remember it ever being that easy," Steve muttered, turning his back on Loki. Lena kept her eyes trained on her brother venomously, but he just stared straight ahead. "This guy packs a wallop."

"Still, you are pretty spry. For an older fellow."

"Tony," Lena admonished.

"What, Maggie Pie? I've got a point." He turned back to Steve. "What's your thing? Pilates?"

"What?" Steve asked incredulously.

"Leave him alone, Tony."

"It's like calisthenics," Tony explained haughtily as he ignored Lena, thinking he was funnier than he really was. "You might have missed a couple things. You know, doing time as a… Capsicle."

"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you," Tony muttered.

"Alright cool it," Lena finally snapped, getting both men's attention. "Can we focus for five seconds on why the hell Loki gave up so easily?"

Instead of answering, Steve got a concerned look on his face and stepped towards Lena, gently turning her face to the side as he inspected the wound on the side of her head.

"I thought you healed easily?" He asked, moving to check her shoulder where Clint had shot her with his bow.

"I do," Lena snapped, feeling strangely offended. "I just took some hard hits, that's all."

"Don't forget about that one, Thigh Master," Tony said as he pointed at her leg, which was still bleeding, albeit slowly.

"Steve, I'm fine," Lena muttered as she jerked her head away from his hand as he continued to check her head. When his finger pressed a sensitive spot near the wound, she hissed in pain.

"Yeah that sure sounds fine," Steve retorted sarcastically. He reached behind him and grabbed a small bandage, gently holding Lena still as he applied it to her head.

As Steve was working on that and Tony continued to make tacky Thigh Master jokes, Lena watched over Steve's shoulder as Loki finally looked over at her. Instead of his usual evil grin though, he looked oddly amused. As if he knew something new about the situation that she didn't.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Lena muttered as she stepped away from the boys.

Loki was smirking as Lena sat in the seat across from him, leaning forward with her elbows propped on her knees and staring at him fiercely.

"Is that look supposed to be intimidating?" Loki cocked his head to the side.

"No," Lena said bluntly. "That's not the intention. The intention is to reflect just how badly I want to kill you."

Loki chuckled. "Well in that case sister, you're doing a splendid job."

"What have you done to Barton?" Lena asked brusquely.

"How are your wounds?" Loki suddenly asked, cocking his head to the side.

Lena tensed. "They're fine," she said through gritted teeth.

"Is that so?" Loki prodded. "Because you are aware that the longer you stay away from Asgard, the more difficult it is for you to heal like an Asgardian, don't you?"

Lena's eyes widened despite herself and Loki put on a face of mock astonishment.

"You didn't know that? Oh surely your dear, beloved father Odin would have told you such a vital piece of information. Or Thor, considering he's the one who locked you out of your home."

"I don't want to hear another word about Thor," Lena hissed, pointing a finger right at Loki's face.

At that very moment, lightning and thunder cracked overhead, shaking the plane. Lena looked over at Tony and Steve to see them standing a few feet away looking out the window themselves.

"What?" Steve asked suddenly. Lena followed his gaze to Loki, and she cocked her head to the side upon seeing the look of fear on his face. "Scared of a little lightning?"

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," Loki muttered.

"What?" Lena asked. "What are you…" Her face dawned in realization and she jumped up to her feet instantly. "No fucking way," she spat in surprise.

Suddenly there was a loud crashing sound overtop of them, shaking the entire plane. Lena stumbled backwards, and Steve walked over and helped her back up to her feet.

"What's going on?" Steve asked loudly over the thunder.

Lena grinned wildly. "That would be my–"

But Lena never got to finish as the back ramp opened and in flew none other than the brother she actually liked.

Thor.

Lena's smile grew wider upon seeing him, red cape and all. However, he wasn't smiling at all. Thor looked furious as he trained his eyes on Loki and Loki alone. He didn't even see Lena since Steve was standing in front of her protectively.

Tony snapped his Iron Mask man down and moved to approach Thor, but Lena's brother only thrust his mighty hammer forward and sent Tony flying backwards, crashing him right into Lena and Steve.

Lena gasped as the breath was knocked out of her, one super soldier and one man in a metal suit lying on top of her. Any other day, that might have been kind of fun. But not that day.

"Thor–" Lena tried to gasp out, but it was inaudible over the thunder and she watched helplessly as Thor grabbed Loki by the throat and twirled Mjolnir, flying right out of the jet and into the dark night sky.

"Now there's that guy," Tony muttered as he stood to his metal feet.

"Lena was that–"

"Yepp," Lena cut off Natasha, glaring over her shoulder at her friend as Steve helped her up. "And he didn't even see me!"

"That guy's a friendly?" Steve asked incredulously.

"That was my other brother, Cap," Lena explained with a look, watching his eyes grow wide.

"Doesn't matter," Tony muttered as he stalked over to the still open ramp.

"Doesn't matter?" Lena asked incredulously, instinct driving her to pull out her staff.

"If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract is lost."

Lena could read Tony's movements and she knew he was about to take off after her two siblings and do something probably really stupid.

"Stark, don't you dare," Lena warned, walking towards him threateningly, but he kept his back turned to both her and Steve.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Steve shouted.

"I have a plan," Tony said firmly, glancing over his shoulder in his metal mask, "Attack."

"Tony, no!" Lena shouted, but she was too late. She rushed to the end of the ramp, but Tony was already long gone, flying off into the night. "Dammit!" She shouted, banging her hand against the side of the plane.

She turned and looked back to face the interior of the Quinjet, seeing Steve and Natasha talking to one another as Steve reached for a parachute. For some reason though, she couldn't hear them.

Lena's face drew together in confusion as her hearing became muffled and her vision blurred.

"What the hell?" She muttered to herself as her knees started to wobble. She was losing all control of her body, and she wanted to cry out for help, but her tongue felt like lead. "Steve," she finally managed to say, but he couldn't hear her. "I think I'm gonna…"

Nat looked past Steve just in time to see Lena's eyes roll in the back of her head as she fell out of the back of the plane.

**xXxXx**

The movies don't do an accurate job of depicting just how loud it is to fall through open air. As Lena's eyes fluttered open barely five seconds after she fell, that was the first thing she thought about. That it was _loud_ as her body cut through the air as if she were in a wind tunnel.

The second thing she thought about wasn't really a thought so much as a boiling over of an emotion. Complete and total terror, to be more precise.

Lena's eyes flew open as her mind completely sobered, a blood curdling scream erupting from her throat. She twisted and flailed, pointlessly reaching for something – anything – to grab onto, but of course there was nothing. She had just passed out mid-panic attack and fallen out of a freaking plane.

But all of the screams caught in Lena's throat as she finally looked down and gained sight of the ground rapidly getting nearer and nearer. She was going to crash into the trees below any second now if she didn't do something.

_You are an Asgardian_! Lena's mind screamed at itself, _This is not how you're going to die!_

With a newfound sense of determination, Lena twisted in the air and reached for her weapons belt, but her staff wasn't there. She had been holding it when she fell and a sense of dread overcame her as she realized she must've dropped it.

Closing her eyes and trying to calm her mind as much as possible when one is falling through the sky, Lena outstretched her hand and hoped and prayed her little trick would work from an unknown distance.

The tops of the trees below were getting startlingly closer as Lena finally heard her staff whistling through the air towards her like a bullet. She glanced behind her as the trees got closer and closer, ready to impale her.

"Come on, come on," she murmured, willing her staff to speed up as the trees were just below her. It might not get to her in time. "Come on!"

Her faithful Gríðarvölr finally reached her outstretched hand barely two seconds before she hit the tree line, and as soon as it made contact, Lena held her breath, squinting her eyes tightly shut. She curled her body into a fetal position, preparing for what she assumed would be death by tree branches.

But it never came.

Lena heard the branches breaking, the crashing and cracking of bark, but she felt nothing. Seconds later her body came to an abrupt yet painless stop. She slowly opened her eyes a few seconds later, and gasped in shock at what she saw.

Extending from where Lena was holding her staff tight to her chest, a bright blue force field encircled her entire body. The circle hovered above the ground with a low hum, and Lena looked at her hand in shock at the weapon's newfound talent.

"No w–"

That thought was cut off with a painful 'oof' as the force field disappeared instantaneously and Lena dropped the short two feet to the ground below, landing on her side.

"Ow," Lena groaned, sitting up slowly. "A warning would've been nice," she muttered as she stood to her feet, her knees wobbling as she did so. That fall had been disorienting.

Lena looked down at the staff in her hand that was still glowing. She smiled widely. "You keep on surprising me," she said fondly.

With a deep breath, Lena looked all around her. Plummeting to the ground from the back of a plane hadn't exactly been the plan to get to her brothers, but it had worked all the same. Now just to find them.

"Where are you, boys?" Lena whispered to herself, squinting her eyes as she looked all around her. Feeling some keen sense of direction that linked her to her brother, Lena's gaze caught sight of a cliff that was several hundred feet away and about a hundred or so more feet up in the air. She saw a red cape swaying in the wind. "Found ya," she smirked.

Looking down at her staff, Lena licked her chapped lips and thought deeply. "Got any more tricks in you?" She asked pathetically. "Come on baby, I could really use – ah!"

Lena shrieked as she was jerked off of her feet, barely managing to hold onto Gríðarvölr as it took off into the air, dragging her behind it. Lena looked ahead with wide, terrified eyes as a blue, shield-shaped force field was cutting through the air and dragging her up to the cliff.

Having the startling realization that she was _freaking_ _flying_, a grin broke out on Lena's face and she began to laugh hysterically. But the laughter dissipated as the cliff ahead got closer and closer and Lena realized she didn't know how to stop.

"No, no, no, where are the brakes?!" Lena screamed, but to no avail. She watched Thor look over his shoulder in confusion as she flew right past him and crashed into the ground, rolling over several times before finally coming to a stop as her back hit the mountain behind her. "Ow," she groaned miserably.

"Well that was quite an entrance," she heard Loki say dryly. She opened her eyes and glared up at where he stood over her, looking down in amusement.

"Lena?" Thor asked incredulously in that deep voice Lena had missed so much.

Looking up, Lena grinned at the sight of her brother. "Thor!" She shouted, scrambling to her feet and running at him, throwing her arms around his neck and holding onto him for dear life.

Thor embraced her back just as fiercely, picking her up off of the ground as he squeezed the breath out of her lungs. Tears sprung up behind Lena's eyes as it really hit her just how much she had missed him.

And just as quickly, it hit Lena just how pissed off she was at him.

Pulling back, Lena reared her hand pack and punched him in the arm as hard as she could muster.

"What was that for?" Thor asked incredulously as Lena cursed and rubbed her now sore hand. Of course he seemed unfazed though.

"That's for dropping off the face of the earth!" Lena shouted. "Well, face of the realm. Whatever, you know what I mean!"

"Sister," Thor said softly, seeing the genuine hurt behind her eyes. "I never meant to–"

"While this family reunion is profoundly heartwarming," Loki drawled sarcastically, making both blonde siblings whip their heads over to him, "Weren't we in the middle of a conversation? An inspiring row, wouldn't you say?"

Lena turned to face Loki head on and glared, narrowing her fierce gaze at him.

"What are you planning with the Tesseract, Loki?" She asked harshly. "Surely you're aware that even _you_ can't handle its power. Nobody can, and nobody should."

Loki scowled, taking a threatening step towards her, but was stopped with a single look from Thor. Though he would never let it show, Loki felt more than intimidated with both of Odin's children facing him head on.

"I've seen worlds you've never known about!" Loki suddenly shouted, turning on his heel and walking up the cliff's slight incline to gain the higher ground over the brother and sister duo. "I have grown, _Odinson_ _and_ _Odindaughter_," he sneered, whipping back around dramatically to face them, "In my exile! I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it–"

"Who showed you this power?" Thor interrupted, stalking over to his brother. "Who controls the would-be king?" He asked.

"I am a king!" Loki screamed indignantly.

"Not here!" Lena shouted furiously, catching both of her brother's attention with her aggressiveness. "This is Midgard, Loki. You have no ruling here, you are not _above_ humans," she spat, walking over closer towards the boys.

Loki said nothing, only glared at her venomously.

"You give up the Tesseract," Thor said suddenly in an authoritative voice. "You give up this poisonous dream. You…" his voice softened and he stepped forward to his brother. "You come home," he said in an almost begging voice. It was then that Lena really considered just how much Thor missed the brother he had thought was his ally for hundreds of years, long before she came into the picture.

"I don't have it," Loki said.

Lena could tell that those words cut Thor right in his heart as he jerked back angrily, extending his hand to Mjolnir. She just barely managed to bend her torso back to avoid being crushed by the mighty hammer as it sailed into Thor's hand.

"You need the cube to bring me home, but I've sent it off I know not where," Loki said matter-of-factly.

"Is it with Clint?" Lena asked quickly, her eyes widening. "You sent it off with him, didn't you? When will you stop using him to spite me?" She prodded angrily. "First all of the dreams and now this!"

"Clint?" Thor asked curiously, turning to face Lena and cocking his head to the side. "Agent Barton?" He clarified himself, remembering the man from New Mexico when they had faced the Destroyer together. "Why would Loki use him to spite you?"

Lena's eyes widened and she floundered for words, forcing an awkward smile. "Well, about that," she rambled.

"Oh this will be good," Loki muttered. "Go on sister, tell big brother about your new boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Thor shouted, rounding on Lena incredulously. "What is this he speaks of, sister?"

"Okay seriously? Now is not the time for this discussion, we have much bigger things to deal with" Lena said quickly, turning back to Loki with wide eyes that said 'are you kidding me?'

"Yes," Thor agreed. "But we _will_ discuss this later," he said firmly. Lena rolled her eyes as he turned back to Loki and pointed Mjolnir at him threateningly. "Now you listen well, brother. I–"

But Thor never got to finish that threat as Iron Man came flying onto the scene and tackled Thor right off the cliff in what felt like a split second.

Lena stood there staring at where Thor had just been standing right next to her, dust rising up and slowly settling. Her mouth floundered for words, but she was lost.

"I'm listening," Loki answered Thor's unfinished question sarcastically.

Lena finally snapped back to reality after that ridiculous turn of events, rounding on Loki.

"You are _such_ a dick," she said bluntly, making his eyes widen in surprise at the crudeness of her insult.

Without another word, Lena extended her staff out in front of her and used her newfound skill to fly off of the cliff and into the trees towards Thor and Tony, who were no doubt having a perfectly cordial little exchange of words.

Or not.

Lena saw the two in the middle of the forest and somehow managed to maneuver her way into the tree line without flying right into a tree trunk. She came skidding to a stop in front of Thor, her feet leaving tracks in the ground behind her as she held her staff out to slow her landing down. She stood rigidly in the middle of the two men who were looking angrily at each other.

"Maggie Pie?" Tony asked, looking at her curiously, his mask up. "You know I don't like it when someone makes a more dramatic entrance than me," he said with a pout.

"Maggie?" Thor repeated Tony's pet name for her incredulously. Lena sighed and turned to the side so she could look between him and Tony. "This man calls you Maggie?"

"Okay, both of you need to chill," Lena held her hands to the side, looking between them. "We can discuss this calmly and quietly."

"I think we're beyond that, sister," Thor said darkly, gripping Mjolnir tighter. "This metal man stands no chance against the two heirs of Odin."

"Right," Lena said slowly, "About that…"

"Wait a minute, does brother dearest not know that you and I are buddy-buddy, Maggie Pie?" Tony asked in typical Tony-fashion.

"Stark, _shutup_," Lena hissed. "Thor, we're not going to fight him," she said firmly.

"Did you not just see him attack me?" Thor asked in indignation.

"You took my stuff," Tony snapped. "Don't take my stuff."

"You have no idea what you're dealing with," Thor said darkly.

Tony looked all around the forest sardonically. "Shakespeare in the park?" He turned back to Thor and said in a mockingly posh accent, "Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?"

"Oh for goodness sakes," Lena muttered with a roll of her eyes.

"This is beyond you, metal man," Thor said, ignoring Tony's jest, "Loki will face Asgardian justice."

"Yes, he will," Lena said to Thor firmly, "But SHIELD still needs the information he has."

"You cannot be siding against me, sister?"

"Of course not! But the cube–"

"Loki gives up the cube, he's all yours," Tony interrupted fiercely. "Until then," his mask snapped down dramatically, "Stay out of my way."

Tony turned on his heel and began striding away, and Lena watched him curiously. Surely Tony Stark wasn't going to leave without one last snarky remark.

"Tourist."

"There it is," Lena murmured with a sigh. She looked over at Thor and knew he had heard that too. And with a roll of her eyes and a brief flashback to Jotunheim, she stepped back and held her arm out exasperatedly. "Go ahead," she muttered.

Thor reared Mjolnir back mightily, throwing it right at Iron Man and knocking him clear across the forest and crashing through a tree.

Lena sighed. "I'm going to catch hell for that," she snapped to Thor.

"What is a Maggie Pie?" Thor asked incredulously, not concerned in the slightest as he called Mjolnir back into his hand.

"That is _so_ not important right now." Lena looked at her brother like he was an idiot. "Out of all the things you could–"

Lena was cut off as blasts from Tony's hand boosters whizzed past her and knocked Thor right onto his ass.

"Hey!" Lena screamed, but it was no use. Tony came flying by her and used his metal clad body to kick Thor right into a tree that cracked and fell on impact.

Driven by a fierce protective instinct for her brother, Lena whirled her staff around and threw a force field at Tony's back, sending him sprawling to his stomach. He pushed himself up and spun around to face her, and Lena wished she could have seen his expression.

"Maggie Pie?" He asked, confused at why she had attacked him and currently looked murderous.

"I suggest you not touch my brother ever again," she said darkly.

Before Tony could reply, they both turned to see Thor raising Mjolnir to the sky and calling down lightning. Lena had to raise a hand to shield her eyes from the brightness, and she squinted to see Thor catapult the lightning right at Tony into Iron Man's chest.

"Thor!" Lena shouted, not wanting him to kill her friend no matter how much of an idiot he was being at the moment.

The lightning stopped and Thor and Lena stood on either side of Tony to see what would happen. Suddenly they heard a, "How about that?" and the next thing they knew, Tony was shooting his hand blasters harder than usual at Thor's chest.

Thor went flying backwards into the air and somehow managed to land on his feet. He and Tony stared at one another tensely. "Guys," Lena said slowly, trying to diffuse the tension, but of course she was ignored.

The two men launched themselves at one another at the same time, meeting in the air as Tony flew Thor up and away. Lena watched with her mouth parted in shock as they fought mid-air above the forest and off into the distance out of sight.

"Unbelievable," she muttered in annoyance.

"I'll say."

Lena whipped around as she heard Steve's voice. She smiled, genuinely happy to see him.

"Steve!"

"You fell out of a plane without a parachute," Steve said bluntly as he walked towards her, his shield on his arm. "How are you alive, and barely have a scratch on you?"

Lena looked down at herself and raised her eyebrows in surprise when she realized that aside from caked up dirt on her uniform, face, and hair from crashing into the mountainside before, she looked fine. Her wounds had healed completely and she felt better than usual.

"Huh. Would you look at that," she murmured in surprise. Glancing back up at Steve, she realized that he was still waiting on an explanation. "Oh, right. I can fly."

"Fly?" Steve asked in disbelief. "Since when?"

"Like, ten minutes ago," Lena shrugged. "Now come on, we've got to go play parents to two children fighting over a toy."

Lena and Steve took off running in the direction of where trees were falling and they could hear the distinct sounds of Tony's arc reactor blasters. They ran onto the scene and Steve jumped high up on a downed tree to observe Thor throwing Tony onto his back with his bare hands. Lena stood on a much lower tree trunk, letting Steve take the lead on this one as they watched the two men fight.

Thor reached his hand behind him and called Mjolnir, reaching down to strike Tony with it, but Tony used his feet blasters and flew backwards, knocking Thor forward on his face.

Lena chuckled, and Steve looked down at her with a scolding look.

"What?" Lena asked. "He's my brother, I'm allowed to laugh at that."

Just then Tony came flying back onto the scene, punching Thor in the face with his metal fist. The humor left Lena's expression.

"Alright, never mind. You better stop this before I do, Cap," she muttered.

With a slight chuckle at Lena, Steve threw his shield and it hit Thor in the face before bouncing and hitting Tony, and finally flying right back into Steve's hand. Lena was surprised at his skill, but kept her face serious as she stared at Thor and Tony.

"Hey!" Steve shouted, getting their attention. "That's enough."

Thor kept his eyes on his sister as she and Steve hopped down from the tree trunks and stalked over to them, Steve with his shield and Lena with her staff.

"Now I don't know what you're doing here," Steve said to Thor, "But you're Lena's brother and–"

"I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes!" Thor shouted.

"Then prove it!" Lena yelled in response. Thor was clearly taken aback at her tone. "Try to think clearly for just one second, Thor. Loki is threatening _earth_. Don't you think we need to be working with the people who are also tasked with protecting _earth_?"

Thor seemed to be taking in her words, and she knew that he would come around. But then Steve had to go and ruin it.

"Put the hammer down."

Lena sighed dramatically and stared up at the starry night sky.

"Nobody ever learns," she said to no one in particular.

"Uh yeah, no!" Tony shouted to Steve. "Bad call! He loves his hammer–"

Thor used Mjolnir to backhand Tony away from him without even sparing a glance at the highly annoying man in the metal suit, staring at Steve with the fierceness of a true Asgardian warrior.

"You want me to put the hammer down?" He shouted loudly.

"Cap that shield of yours is about to be your best friend," Lena said quickly as she raised her own weapon and created a force field to crouch behind.

Thor leapt high into the air, wielding Mjolnir mightily as Steve raised his shield up. As hammer met shield, a massive shockwave of light exploded at the contact, sending Thor flying backwards. Even Lena was sent back a few feet, though her force field remained intact.

Lena dropped the force field a few seconds later, slowly standing up and staring in amazement at the flattened forest around them. "Holy shit," she whispered, looking over to where Thor and Tony were both struggling to stand up and walk back to the center of the clearing.

Steve also stood to his feet on wobbly knees, and Lena wanted to laugh at the hilarity of the situation, but managed to bite her tongue.

"Now," she said matter-of-factly as the three grown walked over to her. "Are we done here? Or do we want to act like children for a little while longer?"

The men all looked at one another tiredly, silently telling one another that they were done for the day.

"Great," Lena said with sarcastic enthusiasm. "If only _somebody_ had had that idea earlier," she muttered under her breath as she turned on her heel and strode away from the forest where the Quinjet could be seen coming down.

The boys trailed after her like scolded puppies and she couldn't help but smirk.

**xXxXx**

**A/N: Leave a review and let me know how you liked it! Xoxo **


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**A/N: Two updates in one day and another coming soon? I'm on a roll. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter, review please! **

**xXxXx**

"What is this place?" Thor asked as he and Lena stepped off of the Quinjet into a hangar on the Helicarrier. Natasha and Steve trailed behind them, and Tony was already somewhere else on the ship since he had flown away from the forest solo. Steve handed Loki over roughly to several armed agents, who led him away and out of the hangar towards his cell.

"It's called a Helicarrier," Lena explained in an unusually tight voice, making Thor look down at her in confusion. "It's run by SHIELD."

"Ah yes, SHIELD. And you are… a part of them now?" Thor questioned, genuinely curious.

"Yeah." Lena's voice was taut, and it didn't take an expert to know that she was really pissed about something. "I've been an agent of SHIELD for two months, but I started working with them right after New Mexico."

"I see."

"Yeah, remember New Mexico?" Lena looked up at Thor with mock enthusiasm, a cruel smile on her face. "Remember how you whisked back up to Asgard after promising to actually come _back_?"

The group came to an awkward stop as Lena's anger with her brother reached its tipping point.

"We're just going to head to the bridge," Natasha said as she touched Steve's arm lightly, "Take your time."

Lena avoided eye contact with Thor as the hangar emptied out. She stood with her lips pursed and her arms crossed, her hands slightly shaking.

"Sister, if you would–"

"Did you destroy the Bifrost?" Lena asked quickly. Thor froze, his face overcome with shame. Lena shook her head slowly in disbelief. "Oh my gosh. You really did, didn't you? I thought Loki was lying, but you actually destroyed the only way for me to get back to Asgard." Lena scoffed, turning her back on Thor and running her hands through her hair, completely shocked.

"I had no other choice, Lena."

"No other choice?" Lena whirled around to face him. "How was there no other choice? Explain that to me, Thor."

"Loki was using the Bifrost to destroy Jotunheim," Thor said lowly, stepping up to his sister.

Lena gasped in shock. "What?"

"He was using its full power to try and destroy the Frost Giants in their entirety. There was no way to stop the Bifrost other than to destroy it."

"But… but Heimdall could have–"

"Loki had used the Frost Giant's ice casket to freeze the Bifrost in place." He paused, looking down at his sister pleadingly. "Sister you must understand that I would have never left you here with no way back to Asgard if I could have helped it."

Lena didn't say anything, just looked down at her feet quietly for a few seconds.

"I thought I was being ignored," she spoke softly. "I called out to Heimdall hundreds of times, but he never–"

"He heard you," Thor interrupted, making Lena snap her face up to him in shock. "Heimdall heard your every cry, as did Odin. Father would have used his own magic to bring you home when you asked were Loki not a threat." Thor's voice dropped as he stepped forward and put his hand on Lena's cheek, "Lena, don't you understand? You are the Daughter of Asgard. You were never ignored."

Lena inhaled shakily, closing her eyes as a few tears slipped out. Thor didn't say anything else, only wrapped his massive arms around Lena's petite frame and hugged her tightly. Lena embraced him in kind, clutching onto his armor for dear life and crying into his chest.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, and Thor didn't mind one bit. It amazed him how he felt more connected to the sister he didn't know he had up until six months ago than he did the brother he had known for centuries. And even though blood relation didn't matter to him and he still considered Loki his true brother, Thor wondered if it was because he and Lena shared the same father that they were so deeply connected.

"W-What about now though?" Lena spluttered out as she finally pulled back from the embrace. "Can I get back to Asgard now? How did you even get down here if the Bifrost is destroyed?"

"Father had to use a great deal of dark magic to send me to this realm," Thor explained. "Only the power of the Tesseract can send Loki and I back now." He paused for a second before smiling. "And you. There is enough power to bring you back home as well."

Lena breathed out a massive sigh of relief at just the mere thought of returning to Asgard. She would get to see Odin, and Frigga, and Sif and the Warriors Three, and Heimdall. She smiled wistfully as she jumped ahead of herself and began imagining all of the heartfelt reunions.

But the smile fell off of her face when she thought about what she would be leaving behind. SHIELD, Fury, Coulson, Hill, Natasha.

Clint.

If she – no, correction: _when_ she saved Clint from Loki's mind control, what would happen between them? Would they get back together? Their breakup wasn't even technically a break up. It had been more like a… space-up. Which didn't make any sense, but that's how Lena saw it. Clint was angry at her because she had been so messed up because of Loki getting in her head (he still didn't know about that unless Loki had told him), then Lena said she needed space, and then he had given her way more than she wanted. A space-up.

"Sister, what's wrong?" Thor asked, seeing the conflict displayed all over Lena's face.

"I just…" she trailed off, biting her lip to try and find the right words. "For so long, I felt like I didn't have a home at all. And now I have two. How am I supposed to choose between them?"

Thor's expression was dejected and full of disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Thor," Lena continued, "I know you want me to say that I'll come back to Asgard no questions asked and in all honesty, I might. But it's something I'll have to think over. If I knew for certain I could come and go as I please, I wouldn't think twice. But I have a life here now. I'm committed to SHIELD, I have friends, I have…"

"Agent Barton?" Thor supplied, making Lena look up at him wide-eyed. "Sister, do not apologize for having loved ones outside of Asgard. I find myself torn between realms as well, my heart lying with Jane Foster."

"Oh yeah, you really need to call her by the way," Lena interjected, making Thor chuckle. He looked down at his sister thoughtfully.

"Your heart is too good to be contained in just one world," he said resolutely, making Lena's eyes start to well up again. "I may be selfish in asking you to come back to Asgard with me, but I will not hold it against you if you choose to stay here out of love."

"I don't love Barton," Lena said much too quickly. Thor quirked an eyebrow up in amusement. "Who said I love Barton? I have never said those words."

"And why did you assume I was referring to Agent Barton specifically?" Thor narrowed his eyes and Lena's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. "Relax, dear sister. Agent Barton seems like a good man. I am not surprised that you have grown to care for him."

Lena smiled meekly. "Yeah, well… we're kind of on the outs right now."

"Why so?"

"Well it started out when Loki attacked me a couple months ago and then he started getting inside my head and giving me these awful dreams, and then Clint and I broke up or spaced up, whatever you want to call it, and now Clint is under Loki's mind control from that scepter he carries."

Thor looked down at her in shock, his eyes wide and furious. "Loki attacked you? Months ago? Heimdall said nothing of that!"

"Well I would assume Loki shrouded us from Heimdall's sight," Lena muttered, shrugging her shoulders. "But yeah, he's been a real pain in my ass lately. Which is why," she looped her arm through Thor's and began walking them towards the bridge. "We're going to whip our brother back into shape, find the Tesseract, get Clint back, and save the planet from ultimate and total destruction." She looked up at her brother with an amusing expression. "All in a day's work for Odin's children, right?"

Thor laughed boisterously as the two Asgardian warriors made their way to Helicarrier bridge.

**xXxXx**

Thor and Lena stepped onto the bridge through the sliding doors, and everyone immediately turned to look at them. Lena's eyes widened and she looked up at Thor, whose expression screamed confusion.

"It's the hair," she whispered before walking away from him and sitting beside Natasha. Thor touched his hair idly before walking over to the railing and looking out beyond the Helicarrier into the clouds where the sun was slowly starting to come up.

"Everything alright?" Natasha asked in a low voice, nodding her head over at Thor.

Lena took a deep breath and smiled. "Yeah. Everything's good. Except for, you know, my crazy evil brother trying to rule the world and turning my boyfriend into a blue eyed zombie. But other than that, I'm great."

Natasha chuckled dryly.

Dr. Banner walked in at that point, and Lena smiled over at him. He gave a small wave, his eyes widening at the sight of Thor.

"That's my big brother," Lena explained with a shrug.

"Oh. Right," Banner murmured before walking over to stand next to Steve.

Suddenly the screens on the table before them turned on, and everyone looked down to watch the live footage of Loki being led into a large glass cell that was held up by fancy hydraulic rigs. The glass door closed shut behind him and Loki and Fury were left in the room together.

"This oughta be good," Lena mumbled as she crossed her arms on the table and tuned into what was likely to be a show.

"In case it's unclear," Fury said loudly, "You try to escape? You so much as scratch that glass," he leaned over and pressed a button that opened up a hatch underneath the cell to the open air beneath the Helicarrier. "That's thirty thousand feet straight down in a steel trap!" Fury shouted over the wind before closing the hatch. "You get how that works?"

He pointed at Loki. "Ant." He turned and pointed at the button that would drop Loki. "Boot."

Lena laughed suddenly, and everyone else turned to look at her. Her face sobered and she shrunk under their gaze.

"Sorry. Inside joke."

"It's an impressive cage," Loki said, bringing everyone on the bridge's attention back to the screens. "Not built, I think, for me."

Everyone in the room seemed to glance at Banner then, and it was obvious he knew that it was his alter ego that Loki was referring to.

"Built for something a lot stronger than you," Fury snapped.

"Oh I've heard," Loki smirked, looking right into the camera. A rush of chills ran over Lena's body at his terrifying stature. "The mindless beast, makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you?"

"How desperate am I?" Fury asked indignantly. "You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace and you kill because it's fun. You have made me _very_ desperate. You might not be glad you did."

Lena was grinning, thinking to herself, _Hell yeah, Nicky._

"Ooh," Loki said in a low voice, narrowing his eyes at Fury. "It burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract. To have power, unlimited power. And for what?" He looked back into the camera. "A warm light for all mankind to share? And then to be reminded what real power is."

Lena rolled her eyes, glancing over at Thor who looked deep in thought. He met her eyes and she shook her head slightly to let him know that she was just as upset as he was.

Fury suddenly scoffed. "Well you let me know if Real Power wants a magazine or something," he said sarcastically before striding out of the room, his black trench coat swaying behind him.

Loki looked back into the camera one last time before the screens all went black.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Banner said sarcastically.

Lena scoffed. "Yeah, something like that."

"Loki's gonna drag this out," Steve said with a sigh. "So Thor. Lena. What's his play?"

"He has an army called the Chitauri," Thor said in a low voice, making Lena's eyes widen to the size of saucers.

"What?" Lena asked incredulously. "You could have mentioned that earlier, you know?"

"What are the Chitauri?" Natasha questioned, shooting Lena a glare. Lena ignored her, standing to her feet and running her hands through her hair in frustration. She knew of the Chitauri, she had heard horrible stories of them during her time on Asgard.

"They're not of Asgard or any world known," Thor explained. "He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"An army?" Steve deadpanned. "From outer space?"

Lena whirled around to face the super soldier. "Steve, have we met?" She asked incredulously, making him shrink under her gaze.

"So he's building another portal," Bruce moved the conversation forward. "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

"Selvig?" Thor asked, whirling around upon hearing the man's name.

"Oh, right," Lena said quickly, biting her lip. "I forgot to tell you about that."

Thor looked at her in disbelief. "You could have mentioned that earlier, you know?" He echoed her words from before.

"Oh shutup," Lena muttered.

"Loki has Selvig under some kind of spell," Natasha said. "Along with one of ours." Her gaze trailed to Lena, who looked away quickly, biting her lip.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him," Steve weighed in. "He's not leading an army from here."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Banner replied. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him."

"Hey!" Lena shouted.

"Have care how you speak," Thor said lowly, his tone mirroring Lena's. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is our brother," he gestured to Lena.

"He killed eighty people in two days," Natasha deadpanned.

Thor and Lena looked at one another and Lena shrugged. "He's adopted," she muttered as if that was an explanation for his crimes.

"Iridium," Banner said suddenly. "What did they need the Iridium for?"

"Is that what Clint took from the building beside the museum?" Lena asked. Banner nodded. "Well hell if I know. I've never even heard of Iridium."

"It's a stabilizing agent."

Everyone in the room turned to see Tony striding onto the bridge with Coulson by his side. Lena rolled her eyes and looked over at Thor, who still looked resentful.

"Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at SHIELD," Tony continued. "You were there for that, weren't you Maggie Pie?" Lena rolled her eyes, but nodded. "Right, probably wasn't such a fun time." He strode over to Thor and tapped him on the arm as if they were old friends. "No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing."

Lena laughed at Thor's irritated and bemused expression. Tony turned to point at her and she raised her eyebrows.

"You however, I do have hard feelings towards my little Maggie Pie. My offer from before is off the table. You are officially uninvited to sexy times with me and Pepper."

"Oh no, how will I find a way to go on?" Lena asked dryly.

"The Iridium?" Steve pressed, annoyed by the bantering.

"Right," Tony snapped back into science mode. "It also means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants." He turned to the crew of the Helicarrier. "Uh, raise the mid-mast, ship the top sails," he called out playfully. Lena had to cover her mouth to stifle a laugh as the crew looked up at him blankly. "That man is playing GALAGA!" Tony shouted, pointing at a man across the room. Lena only laughed harder. "Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."

Tony stood in between the computers and spun around to look at them. He tested out covering one eye, looking between the screens. "How does Fury do this?"

_Oh, Tony_, Lena thought to herself. _No tact_.

"He turns," Maria Hill answered him monotonously.

"Well that sounds exhausting," Tony muttered.

Lena watched as he spun around, but she was the only other person in the room that seemed to notice him reach down and place something underneath Fury's desk. She opened her mouth to say something, but Tony caught her eye for a split second. Her mouth closed as he gave her a look that clearly said, 'please don't.' And if Tony Stark was asking her something with a 'please,' she figured it was pretty important, so she kept her mouth shut based on a newfound gut instinct to trust him.

"The rest of the raw materials Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily," Tony continued to say as if nothing had happened, his eyes flickering back to Lena at the mention of Clint. "Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Maria asked.

"Last night," Tony said as if it were obvious. "The packet. Selvig's notes. The Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?"

"We've been a bit busy," Lena said wryly.

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked, ever the man on a mission.

"He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier," Banner explained intelligently.

"What?" Lena blurted at what sounded like a foreign language.

"Unless," Tony said as he walked over to Banner, "Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect."

"What?" Lena asked even more incredulously.

"Well if he could do that he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet."

"Finally," Tony said gratefully, "Someone who speaks English."

"Is that what just happened?" Steve asked. Lena scoffed and shook her head, throwing her hands up in the air.

"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner," Tony said as he shook Bruce's hand. "Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled."

Lena looked over her shoulder and smiled at the two scientists.

"Wow, Stark," she said appraisingly. "That was actually really nice of you to say to him."

Tony looked over at her and beamed. "Why thank you, Maggie Pie. I can be affable at times." He turned back to Banner. "And I'm also a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

Lena rolled her eyes and threw her hands up again. She made eye contact with Thor to see him looking at her strangely. "Green rage monster?" He mouthed at her silently.

Lena sighed. "I'll explain later," she mouthed back.

Suddenly Nick Fury walked in, his authoritative presence taking up the room.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube," he said to Tony. "I was hoping you might join him."

"Let's start with that stick of his," Steve said. "It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube," Fury replied.

"I just want to know how Loki used it to turn Clint and Selvig into his personal flying monkeys," Lena said dubiously.

"Monkeys?" Thor turned to his sister in confusion. "I do not understand."

"I do!" Steve shouted, pointing at Thor with a glad expression his face. Lena laughed at his excitement while everyone else rolled their eyes. "I… I understood that reference," he explained.

"Good job, Cap," Lena said appraisingly. "Twenty points for you."

**xXxXx**

About an hour later, Lena walked out of her room on the Helicarrier and down the hallway in search of Tony and Banner. Or anyone, really. She just didn't want to be alone.

Her hair was still damp from the shower she had taken, and Lena shuddered as she thought about how badly she had broken down under the hot stream of water. She had cried and cried until there weren't any more tears left.

All she could think about was the way that Clint had looked at her back in Stuttgart. He had been ready to kill her, he had _wanted_ to kill her. And just when she thought she was breaking through and his eyes had started to turn back to their normal beautiful shade of green, that hope had been ripped away from her.

But now wasn't the time for self-pity, though it was what Lena desperately wanted to fall into. Now was the time to be strong, to get answers. So unable to stand one more minute alone, Lena had gotten out of the shower, made herself look presentable in her backup Sparkstrike outfit (which was the same as the new one just two pieces instead of one and had more black than silver), and taken off out of that room like a bat out of hell. Right now she wanted to find Tony and have him explain just what that little device he had put on Fury's computer was.

Lena rounded the corner without paying attention, running right into a very broad, muscular chest.

"Shit, sorry," Lena blurted as Steve placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

Steve furrowed his brow. "You should really watch your language," he said offhandedly.

Lena laughed out loud at that, covering her mouth with her hand when she saw Steve's slightly offended expression. "Sorry, Cap. It's just… you're so cute sometimes."

Steve rolled his eyes, but chuckled all the same. "Where are you headed?" He asked. "Thor's on the bridge with Coulson if you're looking for him."

"Nah, Thor's fine," she waved a hand carelessly. "He gets along with everybody as long as they aren't trying to take over the world or named Tony Stark. Speaking of the little brat, do you know which lab Stark and Banner are in?"

"I think they're this way," Steve nodded his head. Lena followed him down the somewhat empty corridor. "So do you and Stark not really get along, or is that just an act?"

Lena chuckled. "Most of it's an act," she said honestly. "Stark's a great guy, he just doesn't know when to shutup. I think he appreciates that I call him out on his bullshit."

"And the Maggie Pie nickname?"

Lena rolled her eyes and sneered under her breath. "He hacked into my file the day we met and thought it was hilarious that my first name was Magdalena. I don't find it nearly as funny as he does."

Steve laughed. "You know it's strange how different he is from Howard."

Lena looked up at him with a tense expression that caught him off guard. "Cap, I know that Howard Stark was your friend and all, but he was a really terrible father to Tony."

Steve looked shocked. "Really?"

"Oh yeah. The guy was a dick. He loved Tony of course, but he was never present in his life. Always made Tony feel like a nuisance. That's what Fury tells me anyway." She paused, her face deep in thought. "I went 22 years not knowing who my real father was, but I can't imagine being a kid and having a father figure right in front of me and he just not care. It kind of makes sense why Tony is the way that he is. He uses all of his humor and intelligence and money to cover up just how… bitter he truly is."

Steve stared down at Lena thoughtfully, genuinely taken aback by her wisdom.

"But what the hell do I know," Lena shrugged, playing off the serious moment. "I'm not a psychoanalyst, no matter how much I like to think I could be."

Steve laughed as they rounded another corner. They could hear Tony and Banner's voices and they walked towards the lab. They stepped into the room right as Tony poked Banner in the side with a miniature electric rod, sending a bolt of electricity into the man's side.

"Ow!" Banner said in annoyance, holding his hand to his side.

"Nothing?" Tony asked him in disappointment when nothing happened and Banner didn't turn green.

"Hey!" Steve shouted angrily, Lena trailing behind him as they approached the two scientists. "Are you nuts?"

"Jury's out," Tony joked without even putting much effort into it.

"Tony," Lena admonished, getting the man's attention. "Come on, you can't have thought that was a good idea."

"All my ideas are good ideas, Maggie Pie." He turned to look back at Banner. "You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?"

"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve snapped.

"Funny things are," Tony turned to look at him arrogantly.

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offense, Doctor," Steve added as he looked over at Bruce.

"No, it's alright," Bruce assured him. "I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things."

"You're tiptoeing, big man," Tony pointed at him. "You need to strut."

"Tony," Lena said, "I really don't think you should be giving out advice in that department."

"You need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark," Steve continued, still angry.

"Steve, relax," Lena whispered, trying to calm him down before the situation escalated any further.

"You think I'm not?" Tony snapped. "Why did Fury call us and why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables." He turned to face Lena suddenly. "You work for SHIELD, Maggie. Why don't you know anything beyond the mission?"

Lena searched for a reply as the three men turned to look at her. "Look, I'm just an Agent, and not even a high up one at that. Fury's not obligated to–"

"You're a part of the Avengers Initiative, Lena," Tony said harshly, calling her by her preferred name for the first time. Lena's eyes widened. "If Fury isn't telling you something it's not because of your clearance level, it's because he doesn't _want_ you to know."

Lena was silent, absorbing the weight of Tony's words. As much as she hated to admit it, he had a valid point.

"You think Fury's hiding something?" Steve asked.

"He's a spy, Captain. He's _the_ spy. His secrets have secrets. It's bugging him too, isn't it?" Tony pointed over at Bruce.

Bruce was caught off guard and he stammered to try and find his words. "Uhh.. I just wanna finish my work here and–"

"Doctor?" Steve cut his rambling off, staring at him sternly.

Bruce sighed. "'A warm light for all mankind,'" he suddenly said.

"That's what Loki said to Fury about the cube," Lena replied in understanding.

"I heard it," Steve said tersely.

"Well I think that was meant for you," Bruce pointed at Tony. Tony held out a bag of blueberries as a reward for Bruce and Lena rolled her eyes. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

Lena tensed at the mention of Clint and Bruce glanced at her with an apologetic expression. Someone must have told him about her connection to Clint by now.

"The Stark Tower?" Steve questioned. "That big ugly…" he paused when Tony gave him a look. "…building in New York?" Lena chuckled under her breath.

"It's powered by an arc reactor, self-sustaining energy source," Bruce explained.

"The news said your building would run for what, a year?" Lena asked Tony.

He nodded. "That's just the prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now is what he's getting at," he clarified to Steve.

"So why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project?" Banner asked.

"What is SHIELD even doing in the energy business in the first place?" Lena whispered to herself, staring down at the ground in shock. Why had it taken Tony Stark pointing this out for her to even consider these questions?

"There we go, Maggie Pie," Tony pointed at her. "That's the look I want. You gotta stop bowing down to Fury just 'cause he's your boss. And I'm going to look into all of that once my decryption programmer finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files."

Lena snapped her head up as Tony pulled out a miniature Stark tablet from his back pocket.

"What?" She asked incredulously.

"I'm sorry, did you say–"

"JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge," Tony interrupted Steve. "In a few hours we'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide." He held out the bag of blueberries innocently. "Blueberry?"

"Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around?" Steve snapped.

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome."

Lena sighed, turning on her heel and pacing across the room as she ran her hands through her still damp hair. "I don't understand," she said lowly. "Why is SHIELD messing around with this?" She whirled back around to face the men. "Is SHIELD the reason Loki even found the Tesseract?"

"Probably," Tony nodded.

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up," Steve said quickly, trying to diffuse the situation. "This is a man who means to start a war. And if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them."

"Follow isn't really my style," Tony said matter-of-factly as he popped a blueberry in his mouth. "And quite frankly, I get the feeling it's not Maggie Pie's style either. Look at her face," he pointed over at Lena. "She's questioning every decision she's ever made with SHIELD right now. Aren't you, Mags?"

Lena took a few deep breaths, her eyes darting between the three men as they stared at her.

"I need a breather," Lena said suddenly, striding in between Tony and Steve, bumping Tony's shoulder in the process as she abruptly left the room.

Rounding the corner to an empty corridor, Lena pressed her back against the wall and slid down it, bringing her knees to her chest. She breathed heavily, trying to slow down her racing heart.

SHIELD had become a home for her. She had a family of people she cared about inside the organization. And now to think that SHIELD was messing around with something they shouldn't be – that could be highly dangerous – and hadn't said a word to her? It was a scary thought. Hiding information like that only meant that they were planning on doing something very un-SHIELD like with the Tesseract. But what?

And there was one person other than Fury on the Helicarrier that might have the answer to that question.

Lena jumped back up to her feet, a look of determination on her face as she started making a beeline for Loki's cell. Time to have a little one-on-one chat with her brother.

**xXxXx**

**A/N: Okay guys, I have a serious question. I plan my chapters out way in advance, and I have to ask: is it going to bother any of you immensely if I switch up the events of Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World? Because it would make my plans for this story SO much easier to carry out if I could have Thor: The Dark World's events happen BEFORE Iron Man 3, but I know that's not how the timeline works in the MCU. Would you guys mind terribly if I switched it up? If the majority of you are sticklers for accuracy, I'll definitely come up with something else, but I wanted to ask now so I had plenty of time for feedback. Leave me a review with your thoughts! **


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**A/N: ****PLEASE READ****! I am fully aware that the Natasha interrogation scene with Loki is pivotal in establishing Nat's character in the movies, HOWEVER, for the purposes of my story I am taking a lot of her lines and altering them to fit Lena's very, very different character. Lena is not a master manipulator like Natasha is, so I'm not going to try and write her as one. I'm going to write her as real as I can. She's been hurt by her brother, and the interrogation is going to reflect that hurt using some – but not all – of Natasha's lines from the movie. I hope I do the scene and the characters justice. Enjoy!**

**xXxXx**

Lena entered the detention room holding Loki's cell as quietly as she could, double checking behind her to make sure nobody was watching. She knew that there were security cameras, but Hill and Fury would be watching those and she doubted they would try and stop her. She was more concerned with Thor being the one not wanting her to be alone with Loki.

But alone they were going to be. Lena closed the heavy door shut behind her and Loki turned to face her through the glass with that damn smirk of yours.

"Sister," he said in a fake loving voice, "How lovely it is to see you. I do like your new outfit. It's very… _you_."

"You knew I would come, didn't you?" Lena asked, her face blank as she tried to control her pent up rage.

"After," Loki said plainly. "I figured you would come after whatever tortures Fury could concoct. And then you would appear as a friend. I would find solace in my family, and I would cooperate." He smiled widely and Lena fought off shivers.

"I want to know what you've done with Clint," Lena said sharply, crossing her arms over her chest and approaching the glass cage.

"I'd say I've expanded his mind," Loki said with mock sincerity.

"Bullshit," Lena snapped, her composure slipping. "You've _possessed_ his mind. What I want to know is if he's still in there. You know, once you're king of the mountain and all, what happens to his mind then?"

Loki narrowed his eyes. "Is this love, dear sister?"

"What concern of it is yours?"

"I'm curious," Loki said simply. "Come now," he walked over and sat down on the small bench inside his cell, "Tell your big brother all about it."

"Why should I tell you anything?" Lena asked. "You already know everything there is to know about me and Clint. You were in my head for weeks," she hissed. "You made me watch him and everyone else I love die every time I closed my eyes to sleep at night. You ruined my relationship because you are a spiteful bastard."

"Ah, there it is," Loki sneered upon seeing Lena's anger bubble over. "You're so careless with your emotions, Lena darling. So quick to cry, to scream… to _love_."

"It's taken me a long time to realize that embracing my emotions isn't a bad thing, so if that's the tactic you're trying to use then I'd pick another one," Lena said bluntly.

"No tactic. Just curiosity." He leaned forward ominously. "What is it truly like to love Clint Barton? He's nobody special."

"You're wrong."

"Tell me," Loki said in fake innocence.

Lena took a deep breath, licking her lips as she thought over her next move. Deciding to placate Loki in the hopes that he might let something slip of his own plan, Lena slowly stepped forward and grabbed a metal chair, spinning it around backwards to straddle it, folding her arms over the backrest.

"Clint and I met in New Mexico," she began to explain. "You were there. Remember? You killed our brother with the Destroyer."

Loki rolled his eyes. "He was barely dead. Go on."

"Clint was… kind," Lena said after a moment, looking down at her hands with an expression of nostalgia. "He was goofy and nice and hella handsome and I was done for the second that idiot hit me with a sedative dart. He was the first person to make me feel like… like I deserved a chance at happiness."

"And do you still feel that way? Like you deserve happiness?" Loki probed.

"Yes," Lena said immediately. "Yes I do. I've made mistakes, we all have. Some more than others," she glared pointedly. "But at the end of the day everyone deserves to be happy."

"Even me?" Loki asked.

"Well let me clarify," Lena said matter-of-factly, "Everyone deserves to be happy as long as their idea of happiness isn't harmful to others."

Loki sighed. "So your love for Barton–"

"Why the hell does everyone keep assuming I'm in love with him?" Lena asked incredulously

"–Is it strong enough for you to bargain for him?" Lena was silent. "Your precious earth in the balance and you might come to me to bargain for one man?"

"He's a really special man," Lena said simply.

"What is it that you want?" Loki asked.

"It's really not that complicated," Lena replied as she stood up from the chair and approached the glass, crossing her arms. "I want answers. I already know you plan to use the Chitauri to help you take the earth, but who's pulling the strings? Who gave you this twisted idea that even you couldn't come up with on your own. What does that spear of yours have to do with all of this? I know that Clint's mind is still in there somewhere, I saw it. So your little weapon can't be that powerful."

Loki actually seemed surprised at those words and Lena wanted to pat herself on the back for getting the upper hand.

"You saw what?" He asked slowly.

Lena smirked. "Back in Stuttgart, when you had Clint stealing the Iridium, he and I had a little showdown. It was quite the fight if I do say so myself. He was just about to kill me, had an arrow pointed right at my chest and everything when I stopped him."

"Impossible."

"Possible," Lena snapped. "He recognized me for me, not the twisted version of me that you undoubtedly stuck in his head. And believe me when I say this, Loki," she stepped up closer to the glass, "I'm getting Clint Barton back. I'm getting him back and then we and the rest of our team and going to take you out. You don't get to win."

"Will he want to come back though?"

Lena froze, the very breath in her lungs knocked out of her at his words.

"Will he want to come back to the girl who said she didn't need him?" Loki asked, his words cold and cruel.

"H-How do know you that?" Lena stuttered, all of her previous confidence gone.

"Barton told me everything," Loki said calmly, standing up to his feet and slowly walking across the cell. "New Mexico. Your training. Rumlow. Dubai. How he spilled his heart out to you about what a murderer he is. The nightmares. Oh yes, you didn't hide those very well from him. He told me every single thing about you." Lena's mouth parted slightly in shock.

"You are nothing, Lena Sullivan," Loki hissed. "You are a lovesick fool convinced that a man no more virtuous than you could actually care for you. You are a selfish, mundane twit who tried to drown herself when the going got too tough."

Lena gasped, a flash of pain crossing her chest at the terrible memory.

"Clint Barton was able to give you up just as easily as everyone else in your life will," Loki continued, his cruel words hitting her worse than any punch could. "You pretend to be different, to be changed now that you're a daughter of Odin, an _Asgardian_," he mocked, "But you're no different than me or anyone else you think is so terrible. Your horrors are a part of you and they will never go away!"

Loki hit the glass even harder and Lena jumped away from him, her eyes welling up with tears she tried to hold back.

"I won't touch Barton," Loki hissed, his vile eyes staring into Lena's horrified ones. "Not until I make him kill you. Slowly. Intimately. In every way he knows you fear. And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams I'll split his skull!"

Lena turned her back on the cell, stumbling a few steps away and leaning against the railing as she breathed heavily, fighting off the panic surging through her veins.

"This is my bargain, you mewling quim," Loki spat.

Lena gasped for breath, sniffling through her tears.

"I considered you a brother," she said quietly, unable to see Loki's reaction to her words. "You were my family. I would have done anything for you – anything in the world, just because you were my brother." She turned around slowly, meeting Loki's eyes as her bottom lip trembled. "What made you into this?" She whispered. "What turned you into a monster?"

Loki stared at her blankly for a few seconds before he began to laugh, lowering his fist from the glass.

"Oh no, sister," he said knowingly. "You brought the monster."

Lena's horrified expression dropped instantaneously.

"Banner," she said as realization dawned on her. "That's your play."

Loki was caught off guard by the sudden turn in events. Lena had just switched from crying sister mode to agent mode in the blink of an eye, and even she hadn't been expecting it.

Lena chuckled, amused by the staggered look on Loki's face.

"I won that round," she said mostly to herself, a wide smile on her face. Loki opened his mouth to say something else, but Lena turned on her heel and ran out of the room.

"Fury, Loki means to unleash the Hulk," she spoke into her earpiece as the doors closed behind her. "Get everyone to the lab _now_."

Lena took off in a run towards the lab Banner and Stark were in, apologizing to all the agents she passed as they jumped out of her way to keep from getting run over. She finally reached the lab and skidded around the corner, having to grab onto the doorframe to keep from falling.

But what she saw just feet away from her seemed to glue her shoes right to the ground.

"What is that?" Lena asked slowly as she watched Steve drop a huge HYDRA assault rifle onto the table.

"Phase 2," Steve snapped, his gaze going over to Fury. "It's when SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons." He looked over at Tony and shrugged. "Sorry, the computer was moving a little too slow for me."

"Phase 2?" Lena asked incredulously, finding her voice. "This is what you risked agents' lives for back at the NASA facility? Weapons?!" Her voice was louder than ever and she vaguely registered Thor and Natasha walking into the room behind her. "You didn't think I deserved to know this was going on?"

"Sullivan, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract," Fury said calmly as if that explained his actions. "This does not mean–"

"I'm sorry, Nick" Tony interrupted, spinning a screen around to show the room the Phase 2 plans of making more weapons using the Tesseract. "What were you lying?"

Lena gasped in disbelief, shaking her head. "This can't be happening," she whispered, looking up at Thor. "I had no idea this was going on, I swear."

"I was wrong, director," Steve snapped suddenly, "The world hasn't changed a bit."

"Did you know about this?" Bruce suddenly asked Natasha. Lena's eyes widened and she turned to face her friend as well.

"You didn't know about this, right?" She asked. "Natasha. You _didn't_ know about this, _right_?"

"You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?" Natasha ignored Lena and started walking towards Banner.

"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed."

"Loki's manipulating you."

"Actually," Lena snapped, jerking Natasha's arm back and making her friend look down at her in indignant surprise, "You're the one that's being manipulative. It's what you do, right? Black Widow's skillset?"

"Lena now is not the time for this, you're the one that was just interrogating Loki–"

"You were what?" Thor interrupted, looking down at his little sister. "You spoke to Loki alone? Do you have any idea how–"

"Yes okay, I'm aware how dangerous it was, Thor," Lena snapped. "But if I hadn't done it I wouldn't have figured out his game plan. You can give me your big brother speech later."

"Game plan?" Banner asked suddenly, and the room grew quiet. "Oh. You mean me. Well I'm not leaving because suddenly you all get a little twitchy." He pulled another screen in front of him and pointed at the Phase 2 layouts. "I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

Everyone grew silent, all eyes trained on Fury.

"Because of them," he finally said, pointing at Lena and Thor.

The siblings were both stunned.

"Us?" Thor asked.

Lena scoffed incredulously. "This is ridiculous."

"Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town." Lena took a deep breath and huffed as Fury brought up the Destroyer. "We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."

"New Mexico was _not_ our fault," Lena snapped. "Not to mention that you can't use the actions of one madman to justify making weapons of mass destruction."

"Our people want nothing but peace with your planet," Thor added.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" Fury implored. "And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched. They can't be controlled."

"Right, because you're just great with control aren't you, Nicky?" Lena asked sarcastically. "Like how you controlled the cube? Where did that get you? Oh right, you brought Loki _right_ _to_ _you_."

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies," Thor said firmly. "It is the signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war."

"A higher form?" Steve asked skeptically.

"You forced our hand," Fury said. "We had to come up with something."

"Are you kidding me?" Lena shouted. "A nuclear deterrent?"

"Yeah, 'cause those always calm everything right down," Tony added dryly.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?" Fury retorted.

Steve scoffed. "I'm sure if Stark still made weapons he would be neck deep in–"

"Wait, wait, hold on," Tony interrupted as he stood to his feet, "How is this now about me?"

Steve deadpanned, "I'm sorry, isn't everything?"

"I thought humans were more evolved than this," Thor said conceitedly.

"Hey Thor, remember how I'm half-human?" Lena cocked her head to the side as she looked up at her brother and he had the decency to look apologetic.

"Excuse me," Fury jumped in, "Did we come to _your_ planet and blow stuff up?"

"Oh shutup Fury," Lena shouted.

He looked at her in shock. "Lest you forget that I am your director–"

"I quit," Lena snapped, holding her arms out beside her exasperatedly. "There. I'm no longer a SHIELD agent which means you're no longer my director. So how about you shutup."

"Do you always give your champions such mistrust?" Thor asked in his booming voice that was full of judgement.

Lena pointed up at her brother and looked around the rest of the room. "Valid point."

"Are you all really that naïve?" Natasha asked. "SHIELD monitors potential threats."

"Captain America is on a threat list?" Banner asked dubiously.

"We all are," Natasha shot back, and Lena turned towards the two of them as Tony and Steve went after one another with their sharp words.

"Yeah Banner, don't you know?" Lena asked sarcastically. "We're all on a watch list. As a matter of fact we all have a gun pointed right at our heads 24/7 just in case we fuck up too badly." She glared at Natasha.

"Lena," Natasha snapped in a tight voice. "You just heard what Loki is trying to do, how about you not jump start his plans?"

"Threatening!" Tony yelled suddenly from where he stood in front of Steve, getting everyone else's attention. "I feel threatened!"

"Oh for crying out loud Tony, can you drop the attitude for five seconds?" Lena spat.

"Seriously?" Tony shot back at her. "Do you even hear yourself?"

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos," Thor boomed, bringing all of the separate conversations to a halt.

"It's our MO, isn't it?" Banner suddenly asked, turning everyone's eyes towards him. "I mean, what are we? A team? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that _makes_ chaos. We're… we're a time bomb."

Lena's expression fell as she took in Banner's unfortunately true words. They weren't a team, and she had been a fool to think that they could be.

"You need to step away," Fury said suddenly to Banner in a harsh voice.

"Step away?" Lena echoed. "That's your magic solution to keep him from turning green? How about instead you just, oh I don't know, not be an evil overlord of a skeevy backdoor organization?"

"You know I wish you hadn't quit so I could fire you right now," Fury remarked in annoyance.

Lena smiled mockingly and gave him a tight salute.

"You know, why shouldn't Banner let off a little steam?" Tony asked loudly all of a sudden, putting his arm around Steve like they were old buddies.

"You know damn well why, back off!" Steve shouted, pushing Tony away from him.

"Oh I'm starting to want you to make me," Tony said darkly, stepping right up to Cap.

Steve smiled, but it wasn't his normal all-American boy smile. He was pissed.

"Right. Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?" He asked, trying to provoke Tony.

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist," Tony shot back without missing a beat.

"Well, he's not wrong there," Lena muttered under her breath.

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you," Steve hissed. "Yeah I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself."

Lena glanced around the rest of the room as everyone grew tenser by the second, knowing that Steve was cutting Tony deep even though Tony would never show it.

"You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play," Steve continued, "To lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire."

Steve smiled eerily again. "Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

"A hero?" Tony shouted in disbelief. "Like you? You're a lab rat, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a _bottle_."

"That's enough," Lena shouted, jumping forward and putting a hand on both men's chests to separate them. Tony smacked her hand away, but she put it back with more force, feeling the heat from his arc reactor. "You two need to cool it."

"Put on the suit," Steve hissed at Tony over top of Lena's head. "Let's go a few rounds."

Thor suddenly laughed and Lena sighed, rolling her eyes as she lowered her hands and turned to look at him.

"You people are so petty," Thor chuckled. "And tiny."

"Thor," Lena groaned in irritation.

Lena rubbed her hands over her face, realizing just then that she had an absolutely pounding headache. Her gaze drifted over to where Loki's scepter was laid sideways on a stand across the room, but what struck her odd was that the blue gem was growing brighter than usual.

"The hell?" She whispered to herself.

Fury suddenly said, "Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner to his–"

"No," Lena interrupted Fury, whirling around to face her now former director. "No way, you leave Bruce alone. No more of this 'icing a threat before it's even threatening' bullshit."

"Not to mention you rented my room," Banner added, referring to the cell Loki was currently occupying.

Fury sighed. "The cell was just in case–"

"In case you needed to kill me, but you can't, I know, I tried!"

The entire room fell silent at Bruce's words, Lena raising a hand to cover her mouth in shock. He looked at everyone's stunned reactions, his eyes lingering a bit longer on Lena's.

"I got low," he explained in a distraught voice, crossing his arms over his chest. "I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk!"

Banner was visibly upset, and Lena moved to step towards him but Thor grabbed her arm and held her back, discreetly shaking his head at her.

"You wanna know my secret Agent Romanoff?" Banner spat, backing up and reaching out to the table behind him as he got angrier and angrier. "You wanna know how I stay calm?"

The room grew thick with tension and terror, and Lena very slowly reached down to hover her hand just over her staff. Bruce had backed up and lifted Loki's scepter into his hand and currently looked murderous. Lena gulped in fear.

"Doctor Banner," Steve suddenly said in a firm voice that no one else would have been able to muster, "Put down the scepter."

Bruce looked down at his hand then and seemed to be completely shocked that he was holding the weapon.

"Bruce?" Lena called out tentatively.

Suddenly a computer beeped and everyone jumped.

"Got it," Tony muttered as everyone released a breath of tension.

Bruce put down the scepter quickly. "Sorry kids, you don't get to see my little party trick after all," he muttered as he walked over to the computer.

"Is that the Tesseract?" Thor asked.

"I can get there faster," Tony jumped up, striding towards the door.

"Look all of us–"

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard," Thor interrupted Steve.

The room continued to argue over who would be going and doing what, and nobody noticed that Lena was inching closer and closer to the scepter. She bent her knees to be eye level with the gem and stared into it.

Suddenly, hundreds of images flashed across Lena's mind and she gasped, clutching the edge of the table to keep from falling over.

A yellow stone. A gold metal glove. Endless dark space. Monsters wearing metal. A portal. Green eyes. A white bracelet. An unfamiliar female voice.

"_Magdalena..." _

Lena inhaled deeply as though she hadn't been breathing, falling backwards and landing on her butt as she struggled for breath, scrambling away from the scepter.

"Lena!" Thor shouted as he and Natasha ran over and helped her up off of the ground.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Lena tried to assure them, blinking the images away from her eyes. "I just–"

Suddenly the room exploded, sending everyone flying in a different direction. A hole opened up in the middle of the lab, and Lena screamed as she reached for Natasha's hand as her friend fell only to miss her by mere inches. She rolled out of the way just in time to avoid a rush of flames that came at her, hissing in pain as the heat licked her leg.

Lena coughed and spluttered as smoke infiltrated her lungs, crawling to the other side of the room to reach up and grab the table, lifting herself to her feet.

"Thor!" Lena cried out in a hoarse voice. "Thor!"

Jerking her head to the side as her earpiece made an annoying static sound, Lena maneuvered the device in her ear to get it working again.

"…_won't_ _be_," Lena heard the tail end of Hill's sentence. "_Somebody's got to get inside and patch that engine_."

"_Stark! You copy that_?" Fury asked.

"_I'm on it."_

Lena sighed and checked her body for any injuries as she tuned out the conversation going on in her earpiece. A side of her leg was burned, and she hissed as she bent down to touch it. Her staff was on the other side of the room, and Lena called it over to her.

With a pause, Lena looked down at her staff curiously, having a ridiculous idea in her head.

"Please work, please work, please work," she whispered to herself as she took the staff and pointed it at the burn.

To her amazement, Lena's wound immediately began to close over, the skin cells slowly knitting back together like magic – which is exactly what it was.

"Nice," Lena said appraisingly as she healed the wound up just enough to function normally before leaping over the hole in the lab and taking off down the corridor leading to the bridge, weaving in and out of scrambling agents.

The bridge was in complete chaos. Agents were yelling at each other, the entire room was in disarray.

"…Navigations recalibrated after the engine failure," the helmsman was saying as Lena bounded into the room.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Lena snapped, striding right over to the helmsman and getting in his face. He stepped back, terrified. "Is the sun coming up?" She asked sharply. The man nodded in terror. "Then put it on the left side of the damn boat! Get us over the water, because if we go down we don't need to be taking out a chunk of the east coast with it."

Without waiting on the helmsman to reply, Lena turned on her heel and strode over to Fury, who was looking at her appreciatively.

"The whole, 'I quit' thing still stands, but right now you need to tell me where I need to be," she said bluntly.

Fury grinned. "On the bridge. I need you to coordinate, you'll waste too much time trying to get to anyone else."

"Right," Lena nodded, striding over to one of the monitors and plopping down in a seat. She pulled up security camera footage and scanned the ship. "Shit," she whispered, looking up at Fury with wide, terrified eyes. "The Hulk is out."

Fury's one eye went wide as well, but he maintained his composure. "I've got Coulson securing detention right now."

"That's great and all, but he'll tear this ship apart you know?" Lena stressed.

"Right now our focus is in here, helping Stark get that engine back up and running. If we lose another we'll be going down."

Lena took a deep, shaky breath before nodding and turning back to the monitor. She called out areas they needed to evacuate, sent orders for various Quinjets to take off, and so forth. After a few minutes passed though she checked back on the Hulk's whereabouts and let out a little squeak of shock when saw that Thor was fighting him in the main hangar.

"Shit," she said hurriedly, ripping off her headpiece and jumping up from her seat. "Thor's in the aircraft bay, I've got to–"

Lena paused as she looked down and saw a grenade rolling towards her, stopping right in front of her feet.

"Grenade!" She screamed, turning and diving into Maria Hill, sending them both over a railing and onto the floor below. The explosion rattled the room, but Lena was up in a heartbeat, crawling under the railing and back on the platform. She gripped her staff tightly, a feral look in her eyes.

"Not today," she murmured, slinging her staff sideways and sending a force field at the group of Loki's possessed agents that were trying to enter the room, sending them all to the ground. A few more came in behind them, raising their guns and shooting. Lena used both hands to extend her staff and raise a force field that blocked their bullets, sending the metal pieces to the ground with a 'tink' sound.

However, the force field began to drain her with every passing second she held it up and eventually Lena had to push it forward and knock the men down before falling to a knee to try and catch her breath.

"Sullivan, you okay?" Hill called out, running up beside her and shooting two more men while Lena took a breather.

"Yeah… I'm fine," Lena said slowly, already feeling her strength rejuvenating.

Suddenly though, Lena had the oddest sensation, like a prickling on the back of her neck. She raised her head slowly driven by instinct, her eyes widening and her breath catching in her throat when she saw _him_.

Up in the rafters overlooking the bridge, Clint had his bow raised and at the ready, pointed seemingly right at her.

"Clint," Lena whispered in disbelief, her heart racing.

He released the arrow and Lena dived out of the way needlessly – he hadn't even been aiming at her. She whipped her head around, her hair flying about her face as she watched the fancy arrow he had shot perfectly into an electrical port insert itself into more outlets.

"Oh no," Lena said as every monitor in the room began to glitch up. Suddenly the Helicarrier began to tilt over as she stood to her feet. She gripped the railing beside her to keep from falling.

"Sir!" Sitwell shouted, "We've lost all power in Engine One!"

"It's Clint!" Lena shouted to Fury over the noise. "He must've taken out all of the systems." She paused, realizing his plan. "He'll be going to detention level," she whispered, looking up at Fury with wide eyes. "Let me go after him," she said firmly.

Fury let out a pained chuckle.

"Sullivan, you quit, remember? You don't need my permission to go beat up your ex-boyfriend."

**xXxXx**

**A/N: Yooooo that was a big chapter to write. Lots and lots of dialogue between several characters is never easy. But I hope you liked it! Next chapter we get to see another Clint x Lena fight and then [cue dramatic music] A CLINT X LENA REUNION YAY YAY YAY. **

**And what do you guys think of all those images Lena saw when she was staring into the scepter? WHAT COULD THEY BE? Leave a prediction in a review! **


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

**A/N: This was an incredibly painful chapter to write, but a necessary pain. Hope you guys enjoy, make sure to review! **

**xXxXx**

Lena made her way to the upper level equipment rooms with a look of menace on her face. Every now and then she would hear the Hulk roar and the entire Helicarrier would shake, but she forced herself to focus on the mission at hand, because if anyone could handle the Hulk and not get killed, it was Thor. Hell, he was probably enjoying himself.

Lena however, was feeling absolutely zero joy in regards to her current mission. Clint was under Loki-driven orders to take out this Helicarrier and everyone on it – and that included her.

But just like Thor was the most qualified person on the ship to battle the Hulk, she was the most qualified to take on Clint. Not because she was faster or stronger or knew his fighting style better than anyone else because quite frankly, she and Natasha were about equal in those departments.

What made Lena qualified was that she could bring Clint _back_.

Lena could feel it in her very bones as she got nearer and nearer to Clint. Finally she rounded a corner and gasped softly before flattening herself back out of sight. She poked her head back around the corner cautiously and saw Clint giving orders to three other possessed agents. As they left, Clint turned on his heel and began stalking away towards a different equipment room that connected to the detention center where Loki was being held.

Gripping her staff tightly to give herself an extra boost of courage, Lena stepped out from behind the corner and began following Clint. She was quiet and light on her feet, and Clint had no idea she was there.

They eventually reached a catwalk that was completely empty, only the sounds of gunfire from above and their breathing. Lena came to a stop and took a warrior stance as Clint continued to walk ahead. When he was about ten paces ahead of her he finally came to a stop, his back to Lena. She took a deep breath.

"It's time to come home, Clint," Lena called out loudly. Clint didn't move. "I know you're still in there. And I don't give a damn how strong Loki's mind control is because I know that you're stronger."

"Like you?"

Lena flinched as if she had been slapped at Clint's monotonous, dark, whip-like voice. He turned around slowly, his unnaturally blue eyes meeting her own determined ones. Lena wanted to inhale sharply at the sight of him, but she remained composed.

Clint looked awful. Well, he looked handsome as always, but he also looked truly awful. He probably hadn't slept in days if only for a couple hours, his face was pale and clammy, his lips were chapped, and he had bags under his eyes that would put a druggie's to shame.

"I saw you," Lena continued, her voice strong. "I saw you in Stuttgart, I saw the _real_ Clint behind those eyes. You started to come back to me when I asked you to fight for me."

Clint cocked his head to the side in an eerie manner, his eyes unnerving. Lena took another deep breath.

"But now," she said confidently, "It's my turn to fight for _you_."

A silent beat passed and Clint smirked evilly.

His bow was out in the blink of an eye, and Lena cut a flip that sent her further down the catwalk and avoided his arrow. He was already shooting off another as she ran and slid on her side, knocking Clint's legs out from underneath him. Both on the ground now, Clint reared his bow back and caught Lena across the head with it but she didn't even flinch, only elbowed him in the gut before rolling over and under the catwalk onto the beams below.

As Clint ran over to look over the side of the catwalk, Lena was already jumping up and over the railing on the opposite side. Clint stood to his feet and whirled around, his bow up and at the ready, but Lena grabbed his bow with one hand to shoot the arrow past her, using her other hand to swing her staff at his leg.

Clint cried out in pain as he went down on one knee, his bow falling away from him. Lena used a force field and pushed his weapon away and off of the catwalk. As she turned to look back down at Clint he whipped out a knife, slashing it at her stomach. Managing to jump back in just the nick of time, Lena and Clint found themselves standing just five feet apart, Clint holding his knife murderously.

"Always bring a knife to a staff fight, Barton?" Lena quipped as her staff glowed bright.

Clint leapt forward first, but Lena side-stepped him and flung her staff in his direction. He easily dodged it, whirling back around on her. Instead of calling her weapon immediately back to her though, Lena ran forward and threw a spin kick right into Clint's chest, sending him stumbling backwards. They exchanged punches and dodges, Lena catching a fist to the mouth that split her lip.

"Asshole!" She cursed under her breath as she managed to lock him in an arm bar as he sliced his knife out at her face. Clint cried out in pain, but then cleverly tossed his knife from one hand to another and swung the blade at her again. Lena ducked the attack and spun back around, but Clint managed to grab her forearm with one hand and her hair with another. "Ah!" Lena screamed as he yanked her hair backwards – hard – exposing her throat.

They were locked against one another then, Lena's forearms pushing against Clint's hand as the tip of his knife got nearer and nearer to her throat. As a last minute resort, Lena leaned forward and bit down on his knife-holding forearm as hard as she could. Clint cried out and dropped the knife, sending it clattering behind Lena.

With a whirl of her head and a manic expression, Lena dove on her stomach to reach the knife, but Clint was just as quick. Right before she had her hand on the blade he grabbed her ankle and yanked her back towards him.

With a shriek, Lena flailed enough to roll over on her back and kick Clint in the knee, but that hardly slowed him down at all. He crawled over her and reached out for the knife, getting his hand on it as Lena rolled them over to try and get the upper hand. But Clint was quicker than that, he raised up the blade and stabbed it right into the side of her arm.

Lena screamed in pain, and Clint took that opportunity to roll them back over so he was lying on top of her. With his eyes burning blue as ever, he raised the knife up to press against Lena's throat while she was utterly defenseless.

Lena froze.

She looked up above her with a trembling lip, her eyes full of terror. Clint was breathing heavily, digging the blade into her throat just hard enough to draw blood. Lena was afraid to breathe.

"Clint," Lena whispered, her voice tight. "Please."

Clint was breathing heavily, shaking his head and blinking rapidly as if he were in pain. He gritted his teeth together hard, his body trembling from head to toe. This was his job, this was what he had been tasked to do, so _why couldn't he do it_?

"Look at me, Clint," Lena begged, tears slipping out of her eyes and falling off the side of her face. Clint loomed over her looking terrifyingly conflicted, and Lena feared that he was going to snap and slit her throat any second. "Look at me."

Flecks of green began to flare up in Clint's possessed eyes, but nothing stuck. He continued to blink rapidly and Lena knew – she _knew_ that he was fighting it, but this battle went beyond sheer force of will.

Finally realizing what she had to do, Lena held her breath and hoped for the best as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Clint's.

The knife dug into her throat further at the sudden movement, but Lena paid it no mind. Her mouth crashed against Clint's as forcefully as she could muster with limited motion, and she immediately felt Clint freeze.

It wasn't a passionate kiss, it wasn't open mouthed, it wasn't anything romantic. The kiss was a last resort. Clint's body tensed and he didn't move as Lena's mouth stayed pressed tightly to his.

He stayed still for about three seconds before suddenly an image flashed behind his eyes. An image of _her_. Lena. His Lena, his world. Grinning at him with that smile that lit up his life. Her sandy blonde hair that he loved to run his fingers through gently blowing around her face. Her blue-green eyes staring at him with adoration and love.

She wasn't the enemy. She was his _partner_.

With a gasp, Clint jerked away and fell backwards, his knife clattering to the catwalk. Lena let out a breath of relief, laying her head backwards and trying to steady her heart from that terror of what she thought would be her imminent death.

Clint scrambled farther and farther away, blinking rapidly as his mind began whirring faster than ever before. He tried to lift himself to his feet using the railing, but he stumbled and gripped the side of his head in pain. Half of his mind was saying kill the girl, and the other half was saying kiss the girl.

"Clint?" Lena called out in a meek voice as she stood to her wobbly feet and slowly walked towards him, one hand pressed against the wound on her neck.

"No," Clint muttered angrily as he shook his head from side to side. "No, no!"

Lena called her staff to her hand without ever taking her eyes off of Clint, approaching him cautiously.

"Clint, look at me."

Clint jerked his head up to her menacingly, and Lena fought back an expression of terror. His eyes were rapidly changing colors, moving from green to blue then back to green again. His face was twitching, and his hands were shaking horribly.

"Kill me," he finally rasped out. "Dammit Lena, kill me!"

Lena shook her head from side to side. "No. I won't. You can fight this Clint–"

With an angry cry, Clint launched himself at Lena, but she moved quicker. She raised her staff and blocked his attack with a force field before immediately dropping it and spinning around, catching him right in the side of the head with the metal rod.

Clint's head smacked into the side of the railing and he slumped against it. He was still conscious, but just barely. Lena looked down at him as she breathed heavily, waiting to see what he would do next. He tried to stand up again, but only fell back down against the railing. Resting on his knees, he turned and craned his neck back, looking up at Lena as she towered over him, glowing staff in hand.

His blue eyes began to swirl, fading back to their normal green without flashing back.

"Lena?" He asked in a hoarse voice, a weak smile crossing his features as he finally began to regain control of his own mind.

Lena sighed. "Sorry about this," she mumbled.

Clint didn't have time to ask what she meant before she knocked him out cold.

**xXxXx**

"Take him to the med bay," Lena ordered two agents as she gave Clint's unconscious but also unpossessed form one last look as they loaded him onto a stretcher. "Fury," she said into her earpiece, "Where's Thor?"

"_Detention bay," _Furyreplied_, "But Sparkstrike, he's–"_

Lena didn't bother listening anymore as she silenced the earpiece and took off in a sprint towards the detention center. She got there in fifteen seconds flat, skidding around the corner and immediately raising her staff.

"Thor!" Lena screamed as she saw that her brother was the one in the glass cell now. She began to run over to him, but he shouted, "Lena no!" right as someone grabbed her in a headlock, a strong arm pressed against her throat.

"Oh sister," Loki hissed, his chest pressed firmly against Lena's back as she struggled uselessly, Loki squeezing the wrist she was holding her staff with hard enough to break bone. "So fiercely loyal, so protective," he spoke right into her ear. Lena tried to jerk her head away from him but he wouldn't let her. "But where has that loyalty gotten you?"

Lena struggled, but Loki was simply so much stronger than she was.

"At least I'm not a murderous psychopath like you," she spat, but Loki only chuckled.

"Not yet at least."

Loki turned Lena around then, backhanding to the ground. Thor screamed in rage, but it was no use as he was trapped in the glass cell.

"Thor don't," Lena rasped out as he hit the side of the glass with his hammer and released one of the hydraulics on the side of the cell that would drop him right out of the Helicarrier.

"Yes brother, listen to your sister," Loki sneered as he grabbed Lena by the throat and lifted her off of her feet, pressing her back into the wall. "Perhaps this will keep you from being a nuisance," he sneered as he waved his hand around her in a flurry of gold.

Suddenly, shimmering gold bonds were attached to Lena's hands and feet, pinning her to the wall behind her. She struggled against them as Loki stepped back, admiring his good work.

"You little trickster!" Lena shouted as she began to panic, unable to reach her staff or even call it to her. She was helpless.

Loki laughed. "That is what they call me," he said arrogantly as he held his hands out to his side.

There was a silent beat as Thor and Lena looked at one another, both trapped by either cell or magic. Lena's mouth opened to try and say something, anything, but nothing came out.

"The humans think us immortal," Loki suddenly announced, getting Thor and Lena's attention as he walked over to a control panel. "Should we test that?"

Suddenly, one of Loki's possessed agents fell to the ground. Lena whipped her head around and, to her horror, she saw Coulson standing there holding a Phase 2 weapon.

"No," Lena whispered.

"Move away, please," Coulson said loudly to Loki.

"Coulson, no," Lena cried out. "No you can't be here!"

"It's alright Lena," Coulson said to her without taking his eyes off of Loki. "You like this?" He raised the weapon, and Lena turned to watch Loki holding his hands up as if he were surrendering. But she knew that wasn't true. "We started working on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does." He pressed a button on the side and it whirred to life in a bright red just like the Destroyer. "Wanna find out?" He taunted.

Suddenly Coulson gasped, and Lena screamed helplessly as the front of Loki's scepter pierced through his chest. The real Loki was standing behind Coulson, an evil grin on his face.

"No!" Thor shouted, banging his fist against the side of the cell.

Lena had no voice, she only slumped against her bonds and stared down at Coulson as he fell back against the wall beside her. Choking noises erupted from her throat as tears poured down her face.

Suddenly Loki grabbed Lena by the cheeks with one hand and held his scepter smeared with Coulson's blood up to her face. "This is what you get," he sneered, "This is only the first of every person you love that I will take from you."

Lena could do nothing but stare at him in horror.

Loki tore his hand away and strode over to the control panel once again. Lena looked down at Coulson as he struggled for breath, blood pouring from his chest and out of his mouth.

Her eyes snapped back over to Thor trapped inside the cell as the hatch beneath him was opened, wind whipping through the room. Lena watched powerlessly as her big brother stepped backwards into the middle of the cell, gripping Mjolnir tight. He met his sister's eyes and gave her a weak smile of encouragement.

"Do not be afraid, sister," he said in a firm voice. Lena could only nod her head through her tears as Loki flipped a switch and the cell dropped out of the ship in the blink of an eye.

"No!" Lena screamed as Thor vanished from sight, thrashing and flailing. She had never felt so helpless or so utterly destroyed in her entire life. She went lax against her magic bondage and choked on her sobs.

"That makes two that I've taken from you now, doesn't it?" Loki taunted as he walked towards her.

Lena didn't bother giving him her attention, choosing instead to look down at Coulson who was growing paler by the second. He didn't have long now.

"I'm assuming you managed to locate Barton," Loki continued. "But that's no matter. I'll take him from you as well in the glorious battle."

When Lena didn't reply, Loki turned on his heel and began to leave.

"You had us," Lena said softly, stopping Loki in his tracks. "You had Thor and me." She looked up at him slowly, the fight gone from her eyes and replaced with bitter disappointment. "We would have been willing to look past your wrongdoings, but not anymore." She shook her head sadly. "You were our brother, but _not_ _anymore_. And not because of your parentage, but because of _you_. You don't have a soul," she hissed. "And that's why you will always be alone now. You've lost the only people who loved you. I hope you enjoy your lonely throne, Loki."

For the first time, Loki's composure slipped and a flash of hurt crossed his sharp features.

"You're going to lose," Coulson suddenly spoke. Lena snapped her head to look down at him in shock.

"Am I?" Loki asked, schooling his features once more as he stalked towards the agent.

Coulson struggled for breath. "You lack conviction," he replied.

"I don't think I–"

Loki's taunting was cut off abruptly as Coulson pulled the trigger on the Destroyer weapon. A fiery blast hit Loki right in the chest and he went flying through the wall behind him. Lena stared with her mouth open in shock.

"So that's what it does," Coulson wheezed.

Lena looked down at him in shock and let out a pained laugh as a few possessed agents came in and took Loki away towards what was no doubt an escape route. He shot Lena one last menacing glance before leaving the detention bay.

Lena struggled against her bonds as Loki left, knowing his magic would soon wear off. About ten seconds later the bonds disappeared and she fell to the ground. Ignoring the pain, she scrambled over to Coulson and took his face in her hands.

"Hey, hey, you're okay," she said quickly, lowering one hand and pressing it against his wound. Coulson groaned in pain. "I know, I'm sorry. I have to keep pressure on it though. Stay with me, okay? Stay awake."

Coulson smiled his eerie smile that Lena had grown to love and she wanted to cry, but quite frankly all of her tears had been used up.

"Don't give up, Lena," he wheezed, making Lena freeze and look up at his paling face. "Don't give up on the team. You're an Avenger."

Lena let out a painful chuckle and shook her head. "I'm no Avenger, Coulson. I'm just a girl with a metal stick that cries a lot."

"No," Coulson tried to shake his head but then winced in pain. "You're more than that. Everyone sees it. Now you just have to."

Lena stared at Coulson in shock as Fury ran into the room, pausing for a split second as Lena looked up at him and discreetly shook her head. He ran over and crouched down in front of Coulson.

"Sorry boss," Coulson said, "They rabbited."

"Just stay awake," Fury said firmly. "Eyes on me."

Coulson let out a pathetic chuckle and Lena had to bite down hard on her lip to keep from sobbing.

"I'm clocked out here," Coulson wheezed.

"No," Lena shook her head and pressed down harder on his wound, her hands covered in the blood of the man that she looked up to. "That's not an option."

"It's okay," Coulson rattled. "This was never going to work," he looked back to Fury, "If they didn't have something… to…"

"No," Lena whispered as Coulson took his last breath, his head slumping to the side. "No. Coulson? Coulson!"

"Sullivan," Fury said softly as she pressed harder against his chest, searching for that faint heartbeat she had felt for the past couple minutes. "Sullivan, you have to let him go."

"No!" Lena screamed, pounding Coulson's silent chest with her bloody fists. "No!"

"Sullivan," Fury snapped, but Lena had lost it. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist, dragging her to her feet and away from Coulson's body so that the medics could load him on a stretcher.

"No, no, no," Lena sobbed as she slumped backwards against Fury. "Please Phil, no."

"Come on," Fury said softly as he sat her down against the railing. The paramedics had already taken Coulson away, and she held her shaking hands out in front of her, staring at his blood.

"Agent Coulson is down," Fury said into his earpiece before pausing, looking down at Lena. "They called it."

All Lena could do was stare at her trembling hands.

A rage that she had never felt before washed over Lena like a wave. She was seeing red that went far beyond blood.

**xXxXx**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**A/N: GUYS. CLINT AND LENA SCENES WHERE CLINT ISN'T POSSESSED. MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT. Enjoy and review! **

**xXxXx**

Clint was seeing things. Horrible things. Everything in a haze of blue. Arrows in innocents. A gold scepter. Iridium. Explosions.

"Clint."

A silver staff. Sandy blonde hair. Familiar lips. An apology.

"Clint you're gonna be alright."

"You know that?" The harsh words left Clint's mouth beyond his control. "Is that what you know?"

Suddenly the haze of blue and red and rage dissipated and Clint blinked rapidly. He let out a strangled breath, laying his head back against the pillow behind him, his wrists aching from struggling against the straps holding him down. He came to, realizing where he was and that he was himself again.

He stared up at the ceiling trying to control his breathing when he suddenly came to, trying to sit up and wincing in pain when the straps held him down.

"Lena," he gasped, looking all around the room for her.

"Relax, relax."

Clint jerked his head to the side at the sound of Natasha's voice, some of his tension released at the sight of his friend. He squinted his eyes and twisted his head to the side at the little voices that were still plaguing the back of his mind, but gradually going away.

"You're okay," Natasha continued, sitting at the edge of his bed.

"Natasha," he breathed. "I thought that–"

"That I was Lena?" She asked with a smile. "No. She's right over there though."

Clint jerked his head to look over Natasha's shoulder, his entire body relaxing when he saw Lena curled up sideways in a chair asleep.

"Is she…" Clint choked on his own words.

"She's fine," Natasha nodded. "Pretty banged up. Inside more than out." Clint cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Loki dropped Thor in the cell right in front of her. And then…"

"And then what?" Clint asked.

"Coulson," Natasha said bluntly, but Clint knew her well enough to know that she was in real pain. "He's down. Lena was with him when he died."

Clint felt a flash of pain in his chest. Not Coulson. Coulson couldn't be dead. That was his handler. That was the man that gave him a chance with SHIELD and changed his life. That was his friend.

And for Lena to be with him when he died? She'd already lost too many people up close and personal.

"How is she?" Clint choked out as he stared at Lena's sleeping form.

"Messed up," Natasha answered. "When they called it with Coulson, she lost it. Freaked out, said she was going after Thor, but we've got no idea where he is or if he's even alive. Banner's in the wind, too. She finally demanded that she see you, came barreling in here like a bat out of hell." Clint chuckled. "I finally got her calmed down enough to sit still for five seconds and she was out like a light bulb."

Clint smiled meekly over at Lena as Natasha reached over and undid the straps on his wrist.

"Nat," he whispered. "How many agents did I–"

"Don't," she snapped, looking at him with a hard glare. "Don't do that to yourself, Clint. This is Loki. This is monsters and magic and nothing we were ever trained for."

"Loki, he got away?" Clint asked as he stood to his feet, immediately gravitating towards Lena.

"Yeah. I don't suppose you know where?" Natasha questioned hopefully.

"I didn't need to know," Clint murmured as he crouched down in front of Lena. "I didn't ask."

Clint reached out to push Lena's hair behind her ear, but froze just before touching her. He jerked his hand away and stood up quickly, feeling unworthy to touch her after everything he had done. He gulped and turned back to Natasha, who was watching him curiously.

"Loki's gonna make his play soon though," he said tersely. "Today."

"We gotta stop him."

"Who's we?"

"I don't' know," Natasha shot back exasperatedly. "Whoever's left. Us. Lena definitely, she was ranting and raving about murdering the bastard."

"Yeah well," Clint looked over his shoulder back at Lena, "If she doesn't get to him first I'd sleep better putting an arrow through his eye socket."

Natasha grinned. "Now you sound like you." She watched the way that Clint was looking down at Lena. "I'm going to give you two a minute," she finally said, making Clint look at her fearfully.

"No," he spluttered. "I shouldn't… She won't want me to–"

"Clint, shutup," Natasha cut him off and held her hand up. "I've never seen anyone fight for anyone the way Lena fought for you. She never gave up, even when I did. Don't let that go to waste."

Without another word, Natasha turned on her heel and strode confidently out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Clint sighed, turning back to the love of his life. He walked over and crouched down in front of her, staring at her sleeping face. She looked so vulnerable, so in need of protection even though Clint knew that was the furthest thing from the truth. Lena had made it clear to him several times that even though they were in a relationship, she didn't need his protection or anyone else's for that matter.

That was back when they were together though. But then they had blown up at each other when she wasn't acting like herself after Loki's first attack back at HQ. He had snapped, thinking that he was doing the best thing for her. But was he? If they had stayed together and he had helped her through her struggle against Loki, would things have turned out the same way? He might not have even gotten taken by Loki to begin with. He wouldn't have been possessed and hurt her.

Clint winced as his mind flashed back to their fight in Stuttgart where he had stabbed her in the thigh with an arrow and then shot one through her shoulder. He would have killed her too had she not almost brought him back. Her voice had been the only thing that could cut through the fog.

And then on the catwalk not even an hour ago, he had meant to kill her then too. He could see the blood stain on the arm of her silver outfit where he had stabbed her, and there was a faint mark on her neck from where he had been ready to slit her throat.

He couldn't believe it. He, Clint Barton, had almost killed the woman he cared about more than anything else in the world – more than SHIELD, more than any mission, hell even more than his own life.

There was no way she could ever forgive him for that.

Lena suddenly began to stir and Clint jerked back away from her.

"Clint," Lena whispered in her sleep, her eyes twitching.

If Clint didn't think that his heart was broken before, he knew it was now. She was having a nightmare about him. Hell it probably wasn't a nightmare really, but a memory. Would she have bad dreams about him for months, maybe even _years_ to come about everything that he had done?

"No please, don't hurt him," Lena continued to murmur, making Clint furrow his brow in confusion. "Leave him alone. No. No!"

Lena let out a terror-filled gasp, jerking awake and sitting straight up. Her eyes darted around for any sign of danger – for any sign of _Loki_, but she found none.

What she did find though were the pain-stricken eyes of Clint Barton staring up at her from where he was crouched in front of the chair she sat in. Lena froze, her body shaking. She gaped at his gorgeous dark green eyes that she had missed so, so much.

"Clint," she whispered in complete shock.

But Clint mistook her shock for something else. He thought that she was afraid of him, that she was terrified that he would jump at her like a homicidal maniac again.

"I'm sorry," he spluttered, standing to his feet and backing away. "Shit, I'll leave. I'm so–"

But he was cut off as Lena launched herself out of the chair and threw her arms around his neck, crashing into him like a freight train. Clint stumbled backwards at the force of her embrace, his body tensing in shock. He felt Lena's hands clutching his shoulders for dear life, her body trembling with shaky breaths.

"Clint," she rasped out hoarsely, burying her face into his neck. "I never thought I'd see the real you again."

Clint let out a huge breath of relief and allowed himself to wrap his arms around her as well, crushing her body against his. He pressed his face into her hair, inhaling deeply. She wasn't afraid of him after all, she was overjoyed that he was back to himself.

"It's me," Clint assured her, pressing one hand against the small of her back and the other lightly touching her hair. "It's really me, I promise."

They stayed like that for a couple minutes, two lovers clutching onto one another for dear life. Lena felt like she was drowning, and Clint was the very oxygen she was so desperate for. She forced everything else to the back of her mind and just focused on _him_. The man that she…

Dare she admit it to herself? Was she really in _love_ with Clint Barton?

"I'm so sorry," Clint whispered suddenly. "I'm so damn sorry, Lena."

Lena pulled back just enough to look up and meet Clint's eyes. He raised his hand and ran his thumb across her cheek, catching a stray tear.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for," Lena said firmly.

"Lena I tried to kill you," he argued shamefully. "I shot you, I stabbed you, I–"

"That was Loki's doing," Lena interrupted as she placed her hand against his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into her palm. "I know you, Clint. I know that you would never hurt me in a million years if you could help it." She smiled meekly. "And you came back to me."

Clint stared down at her with love and adoration. "Your voice was the only thing that reminded me of who I was. If it weren't for you, I'd have…"

"Shh, shh," Lena whispered as he choked on his own words. She leaned her forehead against his, feeling his heart beating in time with her own as if they were one being. "You're back now, that's all that matters."

Clint let out a shaky breath as his body reacted to Lena's. It had been over a month since he had been this close with her in such an intimate moment. His hands trembled on Lena's waist and he was willing himself not to overstep his bounds.

"Lena," he whispered hoarsely, unable to voice anything other than her very name.

The corners of Lena's mouth quirked up as she lifted her head and hovered her mouth over Clint's. Their breaths intermingled hotly, the familiarity of each other's bodies combined with the tension of being separated for so long had their hormones both raging.

Lena finally took the initiative and pressed her lips against Clint's, and his willpower crumbled. He crushed his mouth against hers, kissing her more forcefully than he ever had. Their lips moved against one another in perfect time, both of them gasping for breath and moving their hands over each other's bodies as if to memorize every inch.

Clint kept whispering her name and Lena felt like a puddle of goo. She tangled her fingers in the hair at the nape of Clint's neck, her shoulders heaving with heavy breaths as he trailed his lips across her cheek and down her neck.

But then she opened her eyes and sobered instantly.

Lena saw her hands clutching onto Clint for dear life and she froze, her body beginning to shake and tremble.

Her hands were still red. Red and stained and covered in Phil Coulson's blood.

"No," she gasped, jerking away from Clint and stumbling backwards against the wall behind her.

Clint immediately let her go when he heard the word, "no," watching in confusion as Lena held her shaking hands up in front of her face.

"Lena," he asked, his voice still thick with arousal. "Lena what's wrong?"

"The blood," she choked out, shaking from head to toe. "I can't get the blood off."

Clint stared at her hands in confusion, wondering what she was talking about. Her hands were clean, there wasn't any blood on them.

"Babe, I don't see any–"

Lena pushed herself away from the wall and ran into the small bathroom connected to the room. She ran over to the sink, turning on the water as hot as it could go. She rubbed her hands together furiously, trying and trying the get the blood off of her hands.

"Come on, come on," she muttered, scrubbing furiously. The water turned redder, but her hands weren't getting clean.

"Lena!" Clint shouted when he stepped into the bathroom behind her. She was scrubbing her already clean hands furiously and they were starting to blister from the steaming hot water. "Stop it, stop it!" He grabbed her arms, pulling them out of the sink and shutting off the water.

"No, I have to clean off the blood!" Lena screamed, thrashing in his hold.

"There isn't any blood!" Clint shouted, holding Lena's arms up to his chest and keeping her from hurting herself. Lena stilled, staring up at him in shock with her hair covering half of her face. "Your hands are clean, Lena," he said softly, raising them to her eye level. "Look."

Lena stared at her dripping hands in shock, not seeing a single red stain on them.

"But…" She whispered in confusion, "Coulson's blood… I saw it. It was…" She gasped for breath, looking up to Clint for an explanation. He looked down at her sadly. "It was there, I saw it!"

"I know, I know," Clint said soothingly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and holding her tightly against him. Lena's shoulders shook as she continued to stare at her hands.

"Coulson," Lena finally gasped a minute later as Clint grabbed a towel and began to dry off her hands. The blisters were already healing. "He's dead, Clint. Loki killed him. I tried to stop him. I tried, but I–"

"I know you did," Clint assured her, leading them back out into the room where they sat on the edge of the bed. Lena continued to stare down at her hands in disbelief.

"I could've used my staff," Lena rasped out, her breathing quickening. "It has healing powers, I could've healed him, but I wasn't thinking, I was just–"

"Lena stop," Clint said firmly, gently turning her face to look at him. "There was nothing you could do. But you were with him when he died. He wasn't alone. You were there for him."

Lena's lip trembled and she looked down as she blinked away the tears.

"Loki said that… he said that Coulson was the first." She looked back up at Clint who cocked his head to the side in confusion. "He said that Coulson was the first of all of my loved ones he was going to take away from me. And then he took Thor," she let out a pained breath, her eyes squinting shut as the tears spilled over. Clint grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. "He took my brother, Clint. The only family I have here, he took him and now I don't know if he's alive or dead!"

Lena paused, looking up at Clint's eyes that she loved so much.

"And he said he would take you, too," she whispered.

"That's not going to happen," Clint said without a second of hesitation. "I promise. Loki isn't taking me from you, _nobody_ is. You and me? We're endgame. Do you understand me?"

Lena smiled through her sadness and laced her fingers with Clint's, squeezing his hand tightly.

"Yeah," she whispered. "We're endgame."

Clint smiled widely, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Lena's. This kiss wasn't full of passion and longing like the one before, this one was affectionate and assuring.

"Lena I have to tell you something," Clint said as he pulled away. He looked down at her seriously. "It's something I've wanted to say for a long time, but I never had the guts to. And if we're going after Loki I don't know if I'll have the chance to say it ever again. So you need to know that I–"

"No, wait," Lena said quickly, holding a finger up to Clint's lips. "Don't say it. Not yet. You tell me that _after_ we kill Loki, okay? Because if you wait to tell me, then… then I know you'll be okay."

Clint hesitated, but then smiled against the finger she still had pressed to his lips. Lena lowered her hand and he nodded.

"Alright," he conceded. "I'll wait."

Lena smiled, leaning forward and giving him yet another chaste kiss. When she pulled back, her eyes drifted over to her staff propped up beside the door.

Suddenly an idea hit her.

"Holy shit."

"What?" Clint asked incredulously, thinking she was talking to him.

"I can find him," Lena said in disbelief, turning back to look up at Clint with wide eyes. "I can find Thor."

"What?" Clint repeated in confusion.

Clint's questioning seemed to be going right over Lena's head as she grinned wildly and jumped up from the bed.

"I can find Thor!" She shouted ecstatically, calling her staff to her hand and rushing over to the door, flinging it open and tearing out into the corridor.

Clint was stuck to the bed in a daze for several seconds.

"_What_?!" He shouted, jumping up and running after Lena.

**xXxXx**

Lena's first instinct was to go and talk to Fury, but then she remembered that she didn't work for him anymore, so she tore off through the corridors and up a set of stairs.

Running past her in the opposite direction though was Tony and Steve, and the trio almost collided.

"Woah!" Tony shouted when he saw Lena's expression. "Where are you off to in such a rush, Maggie Pie?"

Lena grinned. "I can find Thor!" She echoed her previous exclamation to Clint, tearing past the two men and further up the stairs.

"Lena, wait!" Steve shouted. "We know where Loki's gonna be!"

Lena froze, whirling around to look down at them. "Where?" She asked in a clipped voice.

"Stark Tower," Tony answered firmly. "He's drawing this out, making it a–"

"Show," Lena finished in awful realization. "It's the perfect power source. But he'll tear apart the city."

"Which is why we're headed there now," Steve said.

"Lena," Clint called out breathlessly as he ran up the stairs and paused just behind Steve and Tony, who looked at him warily. "What the hell?"

"Maggie Pie, is your boyfriend back to normal or should I kill him?" Tony asked without taking his eyes off of Clint.

"He's fine," Lena replied at the same time Clint echoed, "Maggie Pie?" with incredulity. He looked up at Lena questioningly.

"I'll explain later," Lena waved him off. "Look, you guys get Natasha and get to Stark Tower as soon as possible. Clint can fly the Quinjet. I'll get Thor and we'll meet you there."

"How are you going to do that?" Steve asked as she started to take off towards the top of the Helicarrier.

"It's quite simple, Cap!" Lena called out behind her as she climbed up a ladder and opened a hatch that led to the top of the ship. She looked back down and grinned at all three men. "Magic!"

**xXxXx**

Lena stood at the edge of the Helicarrier, her eyes looking down at the clouds below. The wind was loud and whipped her hair all around her face.

"Alright baby girl," Lena whispered to her staff as she held it up in front of her face. "I need you to surprise me just one more time."

With a deep breath, Lena closed her eyes and gripped her staff tightly.

And then she stepped off of the side of the Helicarrier.

For the first few seconds, nothing happened. Lena simply fell through the open air and watched as the Helicarrier grew smaller and smaller behind her. Then, just as Lena fell through the clouds and could see the east coast below her, her staff lit up and took off.

Lena let out a shriek of glee and surprise as she held onto Gríðarvölr for dear life while it dragged her down to the earth and towards her brother. The speed was terrifying, but Lena hardly noticed it considering she had travelled by Bifrost before – this was nothing compared to that.

Lena was along for the ride as Gríðarvölr flew her down to the coastline, and Lena could see a field below that had obviously been hit by something large. She approached the field at startlingly high speeds and Lena once again realized much too late that she had no idea how to work the brakes with this thing.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Lena shouted as she approached the ground, grabbing her staff with both hands and holding it out in front of her. A force field encircled her just like when she had fallen out of the Quinjet above Stuttgart and she came to an abrupt yet painless stop.

"Whew," Lena said in relief, letting the force field go and dropping gracefully to the ground beneath her.

Lena looked all around, noting that she was in a field rampant with weeds that came up to her knees. To her left, she saw marks where something had crashed into the ground and skidded through the field. She followed the trail and grinned when she saw Mjolnir up ahead.

"Gotcha," Lena murmured as she took off in a run after the hammer. Just before she reached it though she saw Thor several feet away, lying on his stomach.

Lena's entire body went rigid. He was so still. If her brother was dead, she would probably lose it and never be able to recover.

But then Thor moved and she let out a breath of relief, her body relaxing. She could hear him groan even though he was several feet away from her she knew he would be fine.

Lena was just about to run over to him when her gaze drifted back over to Mjolnir.

Since Thor hadn't noticed her yet and he was still struggling to stand up, Lena took the three steps necessary to stand over Mjolnir. Nobody was able to lift it except Thor – unless they were worthy.

Was she worthy?

Lena reached her hand out that wasn't holding her staff, her fingers touching the handle and literally _feeling_ the mightiness of the weapon. A small smile overcame her face as she gripped the handle tight...

"Ungh," Thor groaned in pain suddenly, making Lena snap her eyes over to him. He rolled over on his back and closed his eyes. Lena glanced back down at the hammer.

"Maybe another time," she whispered.

Thor blinked his eyes open and stared up at the distinctly blue Midgardian sky, squinting from the sunlight. He breathed heavily, his broad chest heaving up and down underneath his armor. He laid like that for a few seconds when suddenly there was a shadow blocking the sunlight.

"Hey," Lena snapped, poking Thor in the chest with her staff. He raised his head and looked up at her in confusion. "You just gonna sit there all day or are we gonna get to work?"

"Lena?" Thor asked in his raspy, deep voice.

Lena grinned, tossing her staff from one hand to the other and reaching down, gripping Thor by the forearm and hauling him to his feet. She steadied him as he began to wobble.

"There we go, big guy," Lena murmured as he was able to stand on his own. "Didn't think I was gonna come rescue you, did you?" She asked with a grin.

"How are you here?" Thor asked in confusion, wiping the dirt from his arms and hands. "I thought Loki would have…"

"He didn't," Lena said in a clipped voice. "He still wants to see me suffer. But unlucky for him, I've got a new perspective on life."

"And what would that perspective be?" Thor asked curiously as he walked over to Mjolnir, stretching out his muscles.

"Stop Loki, be happy," Lena said bluntly. "Can't have one without the other."

Thor chuckled. "That is a good perspective," he murmured as he extended his hand to Mjolnir.

But nothing happened. The two siblings looked at one another in confusion when the hammer didn't move.

"That's weird," Lena murmured. She watched as Thor clenched his fist in frustration. "Hey!" Lena snapped, smacking his arm with her staff. He jumped and turned to face her in confusion.

"Why did you strike me?" He asked in disbelief.

"You're Thor!" Lena shouted as if it were obvious. "The Mighty God of Thunder! You're an Asgardian warrior and you are _worthy_! Now pick up the damn hammer!"

Thor's eyes widened at her words before he cleared his throat and nodded furiously.

"Right, right, of course," he said as he looked back down at the hammer. "I am mighty."

Lena smiled as he reached down and picked up Mjolnir easily with a smile. He looked over his shoulder and said, "You might want to step back."

"Oh yeah, sorry," Lena said as she took a few steps away.

Thor thrust Mjolnir into the sky as a blinding bolt of lightning came crashing down and collided with the hammer. Lena raised her arm and shielded her eyes as the light encompassed her brother. Wind flew all around them, dirt rising up and making the air thick and dark. Thor's armor appeared and clinked all up and down his arms, his red cape back where it should be. A few seconds passed and the lightning disappeared and the wind died down.

Lena lowered her hand and grinned over at her brother, looking the same as he did the day she had arrived on Asgard. Like a warrior.

"Showoff," Lena muttered as he joined her.

"Where to now?" He asked.

"Stark Tower. We have to stop Loki before he can open the portal to the Chitauri."

"Very well then," Thor said firmly. "Do you think you can manage to keep up?" He asked as he began twirling Mjolnir.

Lena rolled her eyes. "Oh please. It's not me I'm worried about."

The two siblings grinned at one another before shooting off into the air.

**xXxXx**

**A/N: The Battle of New York is coming up! It's going to be quite interesting if I do say so myself. I've been updating like a crazy person lately so leave me a review! I read them all and they absolutely make my day. Send in criticism, compliments, predictions, anything you want :) you guys are rad, thanks for reading! **


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

**A/N: So I had someone ask in the reviews (shouter to user 'superfaraway') who I pictured as Lena, and even though she is a completely made up character in my own head and I never originally pictured a celebrity as her, I think the closest physical description would be Amber Heard. If you don't know who she is look her up (she's BEAUTIFUL) and then just picture her with blue-green eyes and dark blonde shoulder-length hair. There you go! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it's a bit crazy ;) **

**xXxXx**

"I'm just saying," Clint argued with Natasha as they flew the Quinjet down towards New York City. "It's rude to give another man's girlfriend a nickname."

"Stark doesn't mean anything by it. He's with Pepper Potts, remember?"

"Yeah. I also remember how much of a playboy he was like, five months ago."

"Oh relax," Natasha muttered as they flew further down into the city that was already being invaded by the Chitauri, a bright blue energy ray rising up from Stark Tower and opening up a portal in the sky. "Besides, Lena can't stand Stark."

"_What did you say about my Maggie Pie?_" Stark suddenly asked through their earpieces. Clint rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Okay, first of all–"

"Stark, we're heading north east," Natasha interrupted Clint, shooting him a look.

"_What, did you stop for drive-thru_?" Tony quipped. "_Swing up Park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you_."

Clint scoffed. "First he gives my girlfriend a nickname and now he's giving out orders."

**xXxXx**

Lena gasped in shock as she and Thor flew into the city towards Stark Tower.

"We're too late!" She called out to her brother upon seeing the portal opening up in the sky. Chitauri were pouring out in droves, riding what she dubbed as 'little alien jet skis.'

As they flew down to the Tower, Lena used her staff to shoot a force field at one of the Chitauri ships and sent it crashing into a building, the monster screaming as it fell to the streets below. Lena smirked.

Thor landed first, booming down and raising his hammer. Lena landed immediately after, raising her head slowly to look at Loki. He was clad in his own armor, that terrible gold helmet with the horns on his head.

"Loki!" Thor shouted. "Turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it!"

"You can't!" Loki screamed back, pointing his scepter at them. "There is no stopping it. There is only… the war!"

Lena barked out a laugh and Loki turned to glare at her.

"Riiiight," she drawled out. "While you stay here being an evil douchebag, I'm going to go be a hero." She turned and looked at Thor. "You got this, right?"

"Of course."

"Alright, I'm out," she said, shooting a force field at Loki that knocked him on his ass just for kicks before jumping off the side of the tower.

Lena extended her staff and shot off flying in the direction of where she had last seen the Quinjet, but came to a screeching stop as an alien jet ski hit her in the side and sent her flailing through the air.

"Jerk!" Lena screamed as she managed to land on top of a shorter building and catapult her staff at the ship. It impaled the side of the Chitauri pilot, making the monster scream horribly. Lena pulled her hand backwards and the staff came flying out of the Chitauri's side, pulling its body down and off of the ship which crashed into another, and they both went down.

Once Gríðarvölr was back in her hand, Lena jumped off of the building again and flew down towards the street. She swung her staff at several Chitauri ships, blue sparks erupting every time she made contact with them, sending them crashing into buildings and the streets below.

Adrenaline rushed through Lena's veins and a sick sort of smile overcame her face. This invasion was awful and she knew that of course, but it was also kind of fun. Battle is what Lena Sullivan was destined to be a part of from the day she was born.

Two blocks away, Lena saw the Quinjet begin to spin and go down. A sense of dread flooded through her and she froze.

Unfortunately though, when one freezes mid-flight, they tend to fall.

"Ah!" Lena screamed as she dropped. But just before she hit the street she was scooped up by none other than Tony Stark – well, more precisely it was Iron man, since he was in his suit.

"Geez Maggie Pie," he muttered through his mask, "Haven't got around to those flying lessons yet, have you?"

Lena huffed as he flew through the sky with her in his arms. "You're a jerk," she said bluntly. She looked over her shoulder and pointed at a Chitauri ship nearby. "If you could deposit me over there I would be – ah!"

Tony pulled a 180 and flung Lena at the ship. She twisted just in time to extend Gríðarvölr and make a circle force field around her entire body. The circle tore through the middle of the ship and ripped it to shreds.

Lena came out on the other side with a grin, thrusting her staff out in front of her and flying full circle back down to the street where the Quinjet had crashed. She landed dramatically on one knee right in front of Clint, Natasha, and Steve, the pavement cracking beneath her.

Clint stared with his jaw dropped as Lena flipped her hair back and stood to her feet, smiling manically.

"Were you just _flying_?" He shouted.

Lena's smile dropped. "Oh. Right," she deadpanned. "So there might have been a _few_ things I forgot to tell you."

"Really?" Clint asked sarcastically. "A _few_ things? Like being able to fly and getting nicknames from Tony Stark?"

"Hey!" Lena pointed her finger at him. "I didn't ask for him to call me that."

"Enough!" Steve suddenly shouted, getting everyone's attention. Natasha stood beside him looking bored. "You two can sort out your–"

Suddenly there was a loud booming noise and the city seemed to still for a moment. The group of four looked up in horror as a huge monster came out of the portal, roaring terribly at the city below.

"What is that?" Clint asked in disbelief.

"It's called a Chitauri Leviathan," Lena answered monotonously. She gulped as she remembered everything Odin had told her about the Chitauri. They had no traces of anything humane in them. All they did was see and destroy. "And it is one bad motherf–"

"Watch out!" Natasha shouted, pulling Lena back by the arm as a Chitauri ship came flying up behind them.

The two girls crashed to the ground and looked up as the Leviathan came down to the street, hovering just above their heads as it made its way further into the city. They all watched as Chitauri soldiers shot out grappling hooks and attached themselves to the buildings all around them, roaring horribly and pulling out their blasters.

Lena and Natasha both scrambled to their feet.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asked.

"_Seeing_," Lena heard in her earpiece. "_Still working on believing. Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"_

"Banner?" Lena asked incredulously, looking at the others. "Bruce is coming? _Here_?"

"_Just keep me posted_," Tony said quickly.

Lena took a deep breath, surveying the scene around her. The streets were destroyed already. Buildings were on fire, cars overturned, civilians running to try and find cover as the Chitauri ships whizzed past everyone shooting at anything and everything. She craned her neck and looked up, her eyes widening as she realized only more Chitauri were coming in through the portal.

"Come on," Clint said suddenly, touching Lena's arm as the group ran over and crouched down behind a taxi.

"We have to get these people off of the street," Lena said quickly, addressing Steve. "There's too many civilians that are–"

She was cut off as three Chitauri ships came screaming overhead, shooting at the cars around them. The ship in front was being piloted by none other than Loki himself, easily identifiable from his helmet and green armor.

Clint covered Lena's body with his own as explosions raged around them. She stood up as soon as she could and jumped on the roof of the taxi.

"Can I," she hissed, shooting a force field after the ships and taking the back one out, "Finish," she hit the second one, "My sentence please!" She shot a third one after Loki but he was too far away, and it faded off into the distance. She stood there on the roof of the vehicle breathing heavily.

The other three looked up at Lena in surprise. She looked down at Clint slowly, shrugging at his look of complete shock.

"Force fields," she explained, wiggling her staff. "Those are new, too."

She hopped down from the taxi as Clint smiled at her in awe, shooting him a grin of her own.

"They're fish in a barrel down there," Steve said as he looked over his shoulder at the street that Loki had just desecrated, more Chitauri flying in every second.

Natasha stood to her feet and fired off two shots into two Chitauri's heads before crouching back down.

"We're good," she remarked casually to Steve. "It's good. Go."

Steve glanced over at Clint, who ran over to crouch behind a different taxi, bow in hand. Lena followed suit, her staff glowing bright.

"You think you can hold 'em off?" Steve asked.

Clint whipped his head around and grinned. "Captain," he said as he pulled a trigger on his bow that automatically loaded an arrow, "It would be my genuine pleasure."

"Gah, you're so hot," Lena murmured, grabbing Clint by the front of his suit and yanking his face to hers, kissing him passionately. She pulled away seconds later with a grin.

Clint stared at her in shock as she jumped up and ran around the taxi, cutting a flip to avoid a Chitauri blast and then flinging her staff at the assailant.

Natasha laughed. "You are so whipped."

The three of them jumped into action, Natasha taking out Chitauri left and right with her gun and Widow's bites, Clint shooting off arrows and basically defying the laws of physics, and Lena cutting all kinds of acrobatics as she used both force fields and the sheer strength of her staff.

"Clint!" Lena called out suddenly just as he jumped up from sliding behind a Chitauri and firing off two arrows in succession. "We gotta get those people off the bus!"

"You two take care of it, I'll cover!" Natasha yelled back, firing off three rounds.

Clint and Lena rushed over to the bus as quick as they could while Natasha covered them. Lena reached up and started helping kids out of the window while Clint pried open the doors. As the people rushed off, Lena hurried them into the nearest cleared building before running back to Natasha.

The trio made a triangle formation, Clint and Natasha facing the east side of the street while Lena faced the west. Lena was exhilarated, grinning the entire time as she flung her staff like a javelin and watched it impale three Chitauri back to back.

"This is just like Budapest all over again!" Natasha suddenly shouted over her gunfire. Lena looked over her shoulder curiously as she extended her hand and her staff came flying back to her.

"You and I remember Budapest very differently," Clint muttered as he let another arrow fly.

"Okay," Lena jumped in between them and fired off a force field at an overturned car, sending it crashing into a group of about ten Chitauri. "You guys have _got_ to tell me what the hell happened in Budapest."

Clint just grinned as he spun on his heel and fired an exploding arrow up in the air at a Chitauri ship. Natasha ran over and jumped on top of one of the monsters, spinning around and snapping its neck. Lena pulled up a force field just in time to block a Chitauri blaster before jumping up in the air and flying down the street where she brought her staff down on another one's head. She went into a spinning crouch and took out yet another before standing up and jogging back to Clint and Nat.

"Nice," Lena remarked offhandedly as she watched Clint take an arrow and ram it into a Chitauri's throat.

Suddenly though the group turned and saw a horde of Chitauri soldiers all stalking towards them. They were vastly outnumbered and Lena raised her staff to send a force field out when suddenly lightning struck down from the sky and took them all out.

Thor came flying down onto the scene, cracking the pavement with his weight as he landed. Lena immediately noticed him stumble in pain and she ran towards him.

"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly, checking him all over. "What happened?"

"Loki happened," Thor muttered angrily before looking down at her. His expression softened. "I'm fine, sister. Are you alright?"

Lena nodded.

"What the story upstairs?" Steve asked suddenly.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable," Thor stated bluntly.

"_Thor's right_," Stark said in everyone's ear, "_We gotta deal with these guys_."

"How do we do this?" Natasha asked.

"As a team," Steve said tersely.

Lena flinched, but Clint was the only one who noticed it from where he stood a few feet away from her checking his arrows. He watched worriedly as Lena shut her eyes tightly for a brief second, Coulson's dying words to her replaying in her mind.

'_Don't give up on the team. You're an Avenger.'_

"I have unfinished business with Loki," Thor said suddenly, making Lena's eyes snap back open. She cleared her throat and looked over at her brother with incredulity.

"Just you?" She questioned in disbelief.

"Yeah, get in line," Clint muttered rudely. Lena whipped her head around to give him a look that said, 'hey, don't talk to my brother like that,' and he gave her an apologetic shrug.

"All of you, save it," Steve snapped. "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us to…"

Steve's words trailed off and everyone turned around to watch in amazement as none other than Bruce Banner drove up on a tiny little moped. Lena burst into laughter, but quickly covered her mouth when Steve glared at her.

Bruce hopped off of the moped and walked over to them slowly, looking fairly pathetic but also fairly adorable in his oversized pants and purple button up shirt. He didn't have shoes on.

"So," Bruce said simply, "This all seems… horrible."

"I've seen worse," Natasha shot back. Lena gave her a glance and then remembered that Nat had been the one with Bruce when he had hulked out on the Helicarrier.

"Sorry," Bruce muttered.

"No," Natasha shook her head. "We could use a little worse."

"What?" Lena asked dubiously, looking around at everyone. "Wait, what?"

"Stark," Steve said into his earpiece, "We got him."

"_Banner_?" Tony asked.

"Just like you said."

"_Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you."_

Up the street, the group all looked up as Iron Man came flying around the corner. But right behind him, the Chitauri Leviathan crashed around the corner, barreling down the street and taking out the buildings on either side of him like they were nothing.

Lena stared with her mouth dropped, feeling Clint walk over beside her and tense up.

"I don't see how that's a party," Natasha mumbled.

Taking a deep breath, Lena stepped forward despite Clint's protests. She raised up her staff and mustered the strength to start up a bigger force field than she had ever made, but Bruce touched her arm lightly and she lowered her hand.

"I got this," he said simply.

The group watched in amazement as Bruce began to walk casually down the street towards the giant Leviathan that was flying right at them.

"Dr. Banner," Steve called out. "Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

"That's my secret, Captain," Bruce said as he looked over his shoulder with a pitiful expression, "I'm always angry."

Lena gasped and jumped back as Bruce's entire body began to swell and stretch, turning green as he grew ten times his normal size. In the blink of an eye, Bruce had hulked out and turned with his fist raised, punching the Leviathan right in the nose. The creature came to a full stop, the Hulk only pushed back a few feet as it began to flip over slowly, its tail end coming over its head.

Tony came flying around the other side of the creature and Lena watched as he extended his arm and fired off a single rocket.

A huge chunk of the Leviathan exploded upon being hit, and Clint reached over to pull Lena back as fiery pieces of monster of metal came raining down upon them. Lena jerked away from him though, stepping in the middle of the group and raising her staff with both hands.

A dome-shaped force field surrounded the group. Lena struggled to keep it in tact as huge blazing chunks of Leviathan chunks rained down on them. She grunted under the weight of the force field, her arms shaking.

Finally, the Leviathan crashed down away from them and Lena lowered her staff with a gasp, falling to her knees. Clint was there in a heartbeat, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to her feet.

"Hey, you did great," he said softly into her ear as he helped her to her feet. Lena looked up at him with a grateful smile.

Suddenly though, a huge roar surrounded them and the group looked all around the street as the Chitauri screamed at the loss of their Leviathan. The monsters ripped off their masks and exposed their horrible faces, ready to kill.

"Oh dear," Lena whispered.

Even more to everyone's horror, the portal above began pouring out hundreds more Chitauri at a time, two more Leviathans flying suit.

"Well this is going to be fun," Lena muttered, looking up at Clint warily.

The group all maneuvered to stand in a circle back to back, readying their individual weapons. Lena stood between Thor and Clint, her expression fierce and ready to go as she gripped her trusty staff tight.

"Call it, Cap," Tony said suddenly.

"Alright, listen up," Steve called out authoritatively, easily falling into the leadership position. "Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton," he pointed to Clint, who stood at attention, "I want you on that roof. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash."

"Got it," Stark said.

"Wanna give me a lift?" Clint turned to Stark.

"Woah, hold on," Lena said quickly, putting a hand on Tony's metal clad chest as she whirled back around to face Clint. "Don't die, okay?" She asked in a firm voice as she placed her hands on his cheeks.

Clint smiled. "Yes ma'am."

They kissed chastely, lips pressing against each other for the briefest of seconds before pulling apart. Lena stepped back and nodded at Stark.

"What, I don't get a kiss too?" Tony asked sarcastically.

Lena rolled her eyes. "Get out of here. And make sure you don't die either."

"Anything you say, Maggie Pie." Stark saluted as he walked over behind Clint and grabbed him by the back of his suit. "Better clench up, Legolas."

With that, Stark and Clint shot up into the sky. Lena watched them for a second before turning back to the group.

"Thor, you've gotta try and bottleneck that portal," Steve said to Lena's brother. "Slow them down. You've got the lightning, light the bastards up. Lena."

Lena snapped her head over to face Steve, her expression deadly serious.

"You're on civilian duty," Steve told her firmly. "You see someone on the street, you get 'em to safety. If you get the streets clear, you either check in with one of us or head towards the Tesseract."

"Got it," Lena said firmly, turning to face Thor. She grinned. "Ready to go be heroes?"

"Sister, we were born heroes," Thor said with a grin.

The two siblings took off in opposite directions at the same time, Thor towards the portal and Lena up and over the streets.

Once Lena was high enough up she pointed her staff down and created a force field that she was able to stand on as if she were levitating in the open air. She watched down below as Chitauri ships flew around the streets, individual monsters running into buildings. One block north though she saw a Chitauri soldier dragging a woman into the street as it raised its gun.

Lena was off like a bullet, her staff extended in front of her as she flew down to the street faster than she knew possible. The Chitauri didn't see her coming, and Gríðarvölr impaled him right in the stomach as she tackled him away from the woman.

Lena crashed into the monster, sending him to the ground as she used his body to absorb the shock of the landing.

Lena yanked her staff out with a grunt, glaring down at the now dead Chitauri soldier.

"That'll teach you to be respectful to women."

Turning around, Lena saw that the woman she had just saved was staring at her with wide eyes, as well as several other civilians who had wandered into the otherwise empty street. Lena smiled awkwardly.

"Hi," she said, giving a nervous wave. "Uh… stay inside those buildings. Yeah. Stay inside." The people just continued to stare at her and she sighed. "Great advice Lena, you're a real jam up hero," she muttered to herself before raising her staff and flying back off into the air.

Lena carried out five more civilian rescues in similar fashion, and her body was slowly growing weaker. At one point she found herself atop of an apartment building fighting off five Chitauri that were circling her. Lena swung her staff and hit two of them away from her and off of the building, but a third one grabbed her by the hair while the last remaining couple both aimed their blasters at her.

Before Lena could raise her staff, two arrows embedded themselves in the Chitauri across from her. Using the strength in her legs, Lena flipped over the Chitauri's head and thrust her hand into the metal piece in his neck, ripping it out. The monster fell to the ground dead.

Lena spun around on her heel and looked across the street, meeting Clint's eye as she grinned.

"Thanks, Hawkeye," she said into her earpiece.

"_Anytime, Sparkstrike_," he replied with a wink.

"_Oh Maggie Pie."_

Lena could literally see Clint roll his eyes as Tony sing-songed over the comm.

"What's up, Stark?" Lena asked.

"_I need you to clear two civilians on 11__th__ in the next… twelve seconds."_

Lena cursed under her breath and ran to the edge of the building, launching herself off of it and down to the street. She flew faster than ever and rounded two corners before reaching 11th street. Her eyes widened as she saw a Leviathan flying at street level, its massive belly destroying the pavement and surrounding cars.

Gríðarvölr seemed to sense that Lena was in a time crunch and her body was pulled even faster through the air. Lena reached the first civilian – a little girl – and swept the child up into her arms and came to a skidding stop on the sidewalk. She rushed the girl into the nearest building where some adults were waiting.

Lena spun around on her heel and realized there was no way she was going to reach the other civilian in time. A teenage boy stood there frozen in shock, staring up at the charging Leviathan in pure terror. Coming up with a last minute idea, Lena slung her staff out sideways and sent a force field at the boy's side. He went flying off of the street and down hard onto the sidewalk where he probably got a few cuts and bruises, but at least he wasn't mauled by a Chitauri Leviathan.

"_Sparkstrike_," Tony called out over the comm, using Lena's actual codename for once, "_Nice job. Wanna send that baby up my way real quick?"_

Lena grinned wildly, slinging her staff in an upwards motion that made a force field whack the Leviathan in the bottom of the jaw. The beast made a terrible roar and immediately changed its trajectory up and away from the street.

"_Fantastic_."

"What are you doing, Stark?" Lena asked as she watched him fly way out in front of the Leviathan and then round back on it, hovering in the air as he faced the beast head on. "Stark," Lena said sharply. "What are you doing?"

"_Ever hear the tale of Jonah, Maggie Pie?" _

Lena's eyes widened. "Oh no. No, no, no. Stark that is a really stupid idea don't you dare–"

Tony ignored her as he took off and flew right into the Leviathan's open mouth.

"And you did it anyway," Lena deadpanned. "Why do I bother?"

As Tony flew through the belly of the beast, he unleashed several weapons. The Leviathan jerked and twisted with each of Iron Man's fires as he eventually came bursting out the tail end of the beast and crashed to the street below right into the middle of a horde of Chitauri soldiers.

"Tony!" Lena shouted, flying in his direction and throwing a force field at the soldiers that knocked them all out as she landed beside him.

Tony struggled to his feet and gave her a grateful look even though she couldn't see it behind his mask.

"Thanks, Maggie Pie."

"Anytime, Starky Poo."

"Starky Poo," he repeated. "I like it." Lena just rolled her eyes.

With that, Tony took off into the sky and Lena chuckled. She looked all around before glancing up to Clint's building. She paled when she saw him.

"Clint!" Lena screamed loudly, taking off into the air without even thinking twice about it as she saw him jumping backwards off of the roof.

Clint loaded his grappling arrow as he fell backwards, shooting it back up at the roof. The grapple hooked on the edge of the building and Clint held onto his bow tight as he swung into the side of the building and crashed through a window, rolling across the floor inside and landing painfully on his back.

Clint groaned agonizingly as a piece of glass embedded itself in the side of his thigh.

Suddenly though, Lena came bursting staff-first into the window next to the one Clint had crashed through. She cut a flip headfirst as she landed, going up on a knee and spinning around to face Clint.

"Lena?" He asked as he struggled to lean back on his forearms. "What are you–"

"Did you just jump off a _building_?" Lena shouted, standing to her feet.

"I… what?"

"You can't just jump off buildings, Clint!" She continued incredulously. "What if that arrow hadn't worked? What if a Chitauri knocked it away?"

"Okay," Clint groaned as he struggled to stand up, "You don't get to yell at me when you've jumped off like, thirty buildings since we showed up here."

"Yeah well I can fly," Lena snapped. "And I also fell out of a plane and jumped off the Helicarrier too, but that's beside the point."

"What?!"

"And contrary to what you'd like to believe," Lena ignored his gaping expression, "You're not a bird, Clint," she grumbled, walking over and pushing him to lay back down, kneeling next to him. "Stay still, let me look at that."

"I'm fine," Clint grumbled, but yelped in pain when Lena ripped out the piece of glass in his leg. "Ow!"

"I thought you were fine," Lena said as she stuck her tongue out at him. "Hold on, I can take care of this."

Lena pulled out her staff and shortened it before pointing it at Clint's wound. He looked on in amazement as his skin cells began to knit themselves back together.

"There," Lena said when she was done, standing to her feet and helping him up as well. "Come on, we've still got work to do. And this time, we're taking the stairs."

The two took off in a run for the stairwell and began jogging down the four flights back to the street.

"That healing trick comes in handy," Clint remarked. "When did you find out you could do that?"

"Right after you blew up the Helicarrier," Lena muttered, jumping three steps to the third landing.

"Oh. Right," Clint said in a low voice. "Anything else you forgot to tell me? Other than you can fly, have magical healing powers–"

"Technically that's the staff, not me."

"–You let Tony Stark give you a nickname, and you've been falling out of planes," Clint continued. "Is there _anything_ _else_ I'm still not in the know about?"

"I quit SHIELD," Lena said bluntly as they reached the second landing.

"No you didn't," he scoffed.

"Yes I did."

"No you didn't."

"Clint, I _did_," Lena argued, looking over her shoulder at him. "I totally did. Told Fury to shutup, too. It was pretty awesome."

"You can't just quit SHIELD and not tell me!" Clint shouted, trailing after her and staring daggers in the back of her head. "That's kind of a big deal!"

"We've been kind of busy!" Lena shouted back, jumping onto the last landing and running out of the stairwell and towards the front doors that led to the street.

"Anything else?" Clint yelled, running behind her.

"Oh, there is one more thing," Lena said as she came to a stop just in front of the front doors. Clint skidded to a stop as well, holding his bow tightly as she turned to face him with a serious expression.

"What is it?" He asked worriedly, the look on her face too somber for his liking. "Lena, just tell me."

Lena took a deep breath, her eyes boring into Clint's.

"I'm pregnant."

**xXxXx**

Clint was frozen, his entire mind going blank. Pregnant? _Pregnant_?

"You're… what?" He choked out. Lena continued to stare at him with that unnervingly serious expression. "As in a… baby. You're pregnant as in you're having a baby. You're going to birth a child. My child – wait it is mine, right?"

"Clint!"

"No, right, okay," Clint rambled, shaking his head furiously. "You're having a baby. No, we're having a baby." He took a few more deep breaths, running his hand through his messy hair. "A baby. I can't believe it. Are you serious?"

"Oh my God no, I'm totally joking," Lena said quickly as she doubled over in laughter, clutching her stomach.

Clint stared down at her in shock, his eyes wide as his mouth floundered. "What?!" He shouted loudly. "That was a _joke_?!"

"A really good one too if you ask me," Lena said through her laughter, leaning her forehead against Clint's chest as she tried to calm down. "It was so hard not to laugh. Oh and if you could've just seen your face!" Lena started laughing all over again, standing back up to her full height and falling apart at Clint's blank look.

"Not funny," he said as he pointed his index finger in her face and walked past her, opening the doors to the street outside.

"It was pretty funny," Lena shot back with a grin.

"_Is anybody hearing me?" _

Both Lena and Clint heard Fury's voice through their comms. They looked at each other tersely, the humor between them disappearing immediately upon hearing how panicked Fury sounded.

"_We have a missile headed straight for the city!" _

"No," Lena gasped, looking up at Clint, who mirrored her look of terror.

"_How_ _long_?" They heard Tony ask.

"_Three minutes, at best."_

"Come on," Clint said, touching Lena's arm gently before they took off in a sprint down the street. Lena used force fields to clear their path, and Clint grabbed about six or seven arrows from downed Chitauri on their way towards the others.

They reached Thor and Steve in just under two minutes, running over to them as Thor threw Mjolnir off into the distance and reaching down to help Cap back up to his feet. The two looked worse for the wear, but Lena knew that she and Clint didn't look any better. Lena had blood stains all over her outfit as well as on her face. Her hair was dirty and all sorts of tangled, but overall she looked more like herself than she usually did.

"You alright there, boys?" Lena asked breathlessly as they approached.

"Where have you two been?" Steve raised his eyebrows suspiciously.

"Oh you know, saving people, jumping off buildings, killing aliens. The usual," Lena muttered, ignoring Thor's pointed look between her and Clint as Mjolnir came flying back into his hand. "Did you hear Fury?"

"What?" Steve cocked his head to the side.

"_I can close it_!" Natasha's voice suddenly came over the comms. "_Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!"_

"Do it!" Steve shouted back to her.

"No, wait!" Lena jumped forward at the same time Tony said the same thing over the comms.

"Stark, these things are still coming," Steve snapped, glaring at Lena as well.

"_I got a nuke coming in."_

Lena cocked her head to the side at Steve as if to say, 'I told you so.'

"_It's gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it." _

"Wait, no," Lena said, looking around at the others in confusion as she realized Tony meant to carry the missile through the portal. "He can't do that." The others refused to meet her gaze. "He'll die!"

"Lena," Clint said softly, touching her arm. She jerked away from him in disbelief.

"No!"

"_Maggie Pie_," Tony said over the comms, "_I'll be fine. J saved the rest for the trip back._"

Lena paused. "You're lying," she whispered. When Tony didn't reply she gripped her staff tighter. "No," she said between gritted teeth. "No way in hell am I losing anyone else."

"Lena–"

But Lena paid Clint no mind, raising her staff and shooting off into the sky.

"Lena no!" Clint shouted. Thor yelled as well and was just about to take off in the air after her when a group of Chitauri came after the men on the street.

Lena cut through the air faster than ever, flying straight up towards the portal. She could see Tony ahead of her carrying a nuclear missile on his back. Lena flew impossibly faster after him, feeling the heat of the Tesseract's energy ray that led up to the opening into another world.

Lena watched in horror as Tony disappeared into the portal ahead of her. She simply gritted her teeth and followed him right into the void.

**xXxXx**

Back on the ground, Clint fired at a Chitauri soldier before stalking over to it and ripping his arrow out of the monster's chest, looking back up at the sky. He watched helplessly as Lena's figure grew smaller and smaller as she flew after Tony.

"Come on baby," he whispered to himself. "Come on."

Thor and Steve joined him on either side, Thor staring up in horror. It was too late for him to go after her now, he would never reach his sister in time.

Then, in the blink of an eye, Tony and the nuke disappeared right into the portal, vanishing from sight.

Clint and Thor both felt their hearts drop from their chests as Lena followed suit.

"No," Clint whispered, his bow dropping to the ground. Thor was speechless.

Feeling guilty but obligated all the same, Steve looked at Thor and Clint apologetically before softly saying, "Close it," to Natasha over the comm.

"What?" Clint rounded on Steve, getting in the super soldier's face. "Lena's still up there! So is Stark!"

"We have to," Steve said calmly. "That nuke will–"

He was cut off as Clint punched him square in the jaw.

"Natasha," Clint said into his comm quickly, turning away from Steve and walking away. Thor was still glued to the ground in shock. "Don't close it. Don't you dare."

"_I'm sorry, Clint_," Natasha replied sadly. "_It's already done_."

**xXxXx**

In the back of Lena's mind, she briefly gave thanks to her Asgardian lungs for keeping her from suffocating to death as she flew through the portal and into open space.

Well, more like dead space. Terrible, terrible dead space.

And in that dead space, about ninety Chitauri ships were clustered together. They were horrible and scary and huge and more than enough to come in and desecrate the earth.

_So this was Loki's plan_, Lena thought to herself.

Lena watched as Tony released the missile and let it whistle off towards the main ship. Lena's flight slowed down as Tony let himself idly go, his arms falling to his sides as he floated in the darkness.

"Nuh-uh," Lena murmured. "Not on my watch."

She flew up further into the void, her lungs starting to feel tight but still functioning. She came to a stop and wrapped an arm around Tony's metal waist, holding him against her. He was practically weightless in the dead space.

"Maggie…" Tony murmured behind his mask as he fell unconscious, the arc reactor in his suit dimming and then going out completely.

Lena extended her staff out in front of her and turned them around back towards the portal. Her lungs were getting tighter and tighter and she suddenly found herself unable to breathe.

Then, to her horror, the portal began to close. The circle of light from earth began to grow smaller and smaller, threatening to trap them inside the Chitauri void that was about to be blown to bits.

Lena took off flying once again, holding onto Tony as tightly as she could. She felt the heat from the nuke blast behind her as the flames chased them, but she couldn't hear anything but her own heartbeat thrumming in her ears as she chased the last bit of earthly light inside the portal.

Closer and closer still, Lena saw blackness creeping in on her own vision just like darkness was shrouding the portal.

Then, at the very last second, they burst through.

**xXxXx**

"Come on, Lena," Clint whispered to the sky. "You can't leave me…"

The portal continued to close, shrinking smaller and smaller. Clint wanted to fall to his knees and scream, but he didn't. He stood there, staring up at the portal and wishing and hoping and praying that Lena and Tony would burst through any second.

And then they did.

"Son of a gun," Steve murmured as Tony and Lena fell through the portal back onto earth barely even a second before it closed. Clint and Thor looked at one another with mirrored expressions of complete relief before raising their eyes back to the sky.

"You keep on surprising me," Clint whispered.

But then he realized that Lena wasn't flying back down to earth – she was _falling_. And so was Tony.

"They're not slowing down," Thor said firmly, swinging Mjolnir in his hand before taking off into the air.

Clint watched helplessly as he stood next to Steve, watching as Tony and Lena continued to fall.

"Thor can only save one," Steve said ominously.

"He'll save Lena," Clint replied without a hint of doubt. "He'll pick her."

And pick Lena he did. Thor reached Lena in record time, grabbing his unconscious sister in his arms before turning to head back down to the street. He looked over at Tony's falling form, feeling a wave of guilt for not being able to save him.

But then Tony _was_ saved.

The Hulk came out of nowhere, jumping through the air and snagging Tony around the waist with his huge arm, crashing them into the side of a building and then sliding down it before turning and throwing himself to the ground on his giant green back, protecting Tony from the fall.

Clint and Steve looked at each other in shock as they witnessed the Hulk's act of compassion.

Thor came flying down beside the others just as the Hulk tossed Iron Man away from him carelessly. He set Lena down on the street next to Tony and it was eerie looking down at the two friends who both appeared to be… dead.

"No, Lena," Clint rasped out, running and crouching next to her body. Thor reached over and ripped Tony's mask off, tossing it to the ground away from them.

They watched and waited for something to happen – any sign that Tony and Lena were alive. But then the Hulk seemed to get impatient and roared loudly.

Tony gasped awake, his eyes snapping open wide.

"What the hell?" He asked as he looked up at the group standing above him, the Hulk beating its chest proudly. "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me."

But Tony didn't get a response. Everyone was looking to Lena now, and Tony turned his head to see that she hadn't awoken like he did.

"Lena baby, come on," Clint begged. "It's your turn, wake up now." His hands touched her face lightly before reaching for a pulse.

But he didn't get one.

"No," Clint whispered, falling back away from her in complete astonishment. "No, she can't be."

Thor watched Clint's reaction and knew. His gaze drifted to the staff in his sister's hand – her faithful Gríðarvölr – only to see the light of its blue engravings dim away to nothing. That could only mean one thing.

Lena Sullivan was dead.

**xXxXx **

**A/N: OH. OKAY. WOULD YOU LOOK AT WHAT I JUST DID. WOULD YOU JUST LOOK AT THAT.**

**But let's be real… do you guys **_**actually**_** think this is the end? ;) **


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

**A/N: Sorry for that terrible cliffhanger in the last chapter. Kind of. Not really actually, your reactions were pretty hilarious. But hopefully this chapter makes up for it! Enjoy the plot twists ;)**

**xXxXx**

Everything was dark. That much Lena knew. She blinked her eyes open from where she was lying on her back, but everything was just… dark.

"_Magdalena."_

Lena scrambled to her feet amidst the darkness as she heard an unfamiliar voice say her name. On instinct, she reached for her staff, but it wasn't there. In fact, she wasn't even wearing her weapon's belt, which never happened.

"What the hell?" Lena whispered to herself, blinking rapidly as her eyes finally began to adjust to the light.

The first thing Lena saw was her own outfit. She looked down at herself in disbelief as she realized she was wearing her white high school graduation dress from over four years ago. It was spotless, which was confusing considering the last time she had seen this dress she had been burning it in all of its bloody glory. This was the dress she had been wearing when her Uncle Zeke died in her arms.

"_Magdalena."_

Lena jerked her head up as the voice spoke again, spinning around in a circle only to see that she was completely alone. She was in a room of some kind, except that there were no walls. It was as if she were in an endless space of just… nothing.

"Who's there?" She called out loudly. "Where the hell am I?" There was no response. "Show yourself, you coward!"

"Magdalena."

Lena jumped as the voice spoke right behind her. She spun around quickly, moving into a defensive position. Five feet away from her where nobody had been two seconds ago stood a woman who looked to be in her early 30s.

The woman was beautiful, with short blonde hair cropped up to her ears. She had a round face and a slim, toned body. She was wearing a dress similar to Lena's, only it was red and not white.

And oddly enough, she looked somewhat familiar. But Lena couldn't place her, so she didn't dwell on it.

"Hello, Magdalena," the woman said with a kind smile. Lena didn't lower her fists despite the fact that the woman was unarmed and seemed to have no intentions of hurting her.

"Who the hell are you?" Lena spat. "And how do you know my name? Where am I?" Her voice raised angrily with each passing second, but the woman was unfazed. "Where are my friends?"

"Don't be afraid," the woman said soothingly. "You are perfectly safe, and so are your extraordinary friends. In fact, they're watching over your body right now."

"My body?" Lena asked incredulously. "What do you mean, my _body_?"

"Right now, we are trapped inside your mind," the woman replied coolly. Lena tensed and the woman held her hands up. "Never fear. I'm not here to harm you the way that your… brother, Loki, did when he invaded your mind."

"How do you know about that?" Lena asked with wide eyes.

The woman chuckled. "I know everything about you, Magdalena. I've been watching you for a while now. Since your eighteenth birthday."

"First of all, my name isn't Magdalena," Lena snapped. "It's Lena. And secondly, if you're in my head without my permission, that's pretty harmful. And thirdly," she paused for a brief second, "There's only one person that's allowed to watch over me. And quite frankly, he's a lot bigger and a lot scarier than you so I'd suggest you stop doing whatever weird stuff you're doing."

The woman laughed again, a bell like sound that was much too prim and proper for Lena's liking. She and this woman were obviously nothing alike.

"You speak of Heimdall," the woman stated bluntly. Lena was so shocked that she actually took a step back away from the stranger. "I have heard many stories of the gatekeeper, and it still amazes me that you consider him your friend."

"How do you know of Heimdall?" Lena asked in disbelief. "Are you… are you an Asgardian?" She asked, lowering her hands.

The woman smiled sadly. "No. No, I am not Asgardian. Though I wish I was."

Lena was confused at that statement, but chose to let it slide for the time being.

"Look, I don't know who you are or what you want from me," Lena snapped, "But this weird, trapped in my own head, wearing my graduation dress bullshit is really stressing me out. I have a boyfriend and a brother and a bunch of friends that need me right now, so _get out of my head._"

Lena's voice was deadly, but the woman simply stared at her.

"My dear Magdalena," she whispered. "So full of light and yet so easily consumed by darkness."

Lena felt slapped by the stranger's words.

"My name," she said through gritted teeth, "Is Lena."

"No," the woman shot back, showing her first real sign of emotion. "Your name is Magdalena. Magdalena Freya Sullivan. It is what I named you on the day you were born."

Lena's eyes widened and her mouth parted in shock as the woman began to step closer to her.

"I held you in my arms," the woman continued, "I heard your first cry. I named you. And then I died."

Lena's lip trembled as the woman stood right in front of her. She stared up into the woman's eyes, realizing that the stranger looked familiar because Lena had seen pictures of her in Zeke's old photo albums when she was a child. Up this close, Lena could see that the woman's eyes were the same color that she saw in the mirror every day.

"Mom?" Lena choked out, tears welling up in her eyes.

The woman smiled, placing her hand on Lena's cheek.

"Yes, Magdalena. I am Camille Sullivan. Your mother."

**xXxXx**

"No," Clint whispered as he stared at Lena's body. "No, no."

"Move," Thor said brusquely, shoving Clint out of the way roughly and crouching down next to his sister. He reached for a pulse as well and made a noise of anger when he couldn't find one. "Sister!" He shouted in Lena's face. "Wake up!"

"Guys," Steve said softly, but both Thor and Clint rounded on him with murderous glares and he held his hands up, backing away.

"Point Break, help me up," Tony said suddenly. Thor helped lift Tony up to his metal knees where he turned and looked down at Lena. She was so… still. "Come on Maggie Pie," he said softly. "I don't have anybody else to tease that'll tease me back, you gotta stay with us."

Lena was of course unresponsive, and Clint covered his mouth as tears welled up in his eyes. He turned and punched the side of an overturned car angrily before pressing his back against it and sliding to the ground, covering his face with his hands.

"JARVIS," Tony said suddenly. "Set hand repulsors to 1%."

"_Yes_ _sir_," JARVIS replied inside Tony's suit.

"Alright, Maggie Pie," Tony whispered as he hovered his hands just over Lena's chest. "Your turn to come back to the land of the living."

**xXxXx**

"This isn't possible," Lena said, jerking away from Camille's hand and stepping back abruptly. Camille looked hurt. "You're _dead_. You died right after I was born, you just said so!" Lena shouted. "How can you be in my head?"

Lena's face paled as realization dawned on her.

"Oh God," she whispered. "I'm… _I'm_ dead."

"Magdalena–"

"I'm dead!" Lena shouted. "I died saving Tony and now I don't even know if he's alive either." She ran her hands through her hair and paced manically. "And Thor probably feels so guilty, and he's going to have to tell Odin and Frigga and…" she froze, paling even further. "Clint. Oh God, Clint."

Lena was gasping for breath, sinking to her knees and holding her arms across her chest tightly as if that would somehow keep her from falling apart.

"He was going to tell me he loved me," Lena sobbed, her body trembling. "He was going to tell me he loved me after we both made it out of the battle alive and now I've… I've left him all alone and…"

"Magdalena," Camille said firmly, kneeling down in front of her daughter and looking her in the eyes. "You are not dead."

Lena froze.

"What?"

"You are very much alive. Well, not by Midgardian standards. In that sense, you are dead. But only temporarily."

"Temporarily?" Lena echoed. "I… explain, please."

Camille took a deep breath.

"Your mind is in a temporary state of limbo that I induced. In order for you to be vulnerable enough to speak with me, your body had to shut down. It wasn't exactly moral of me, I will admit. But it _was_ necessary."

"I'm sorry, what?" Lena asked incredulously. "You _induced_ me here? But you're…"

"Dead?" Camille supplied with a wry smile. "No. I was dead. But I am as alive now as you are. Or as you will be."

Lena stood back to her feet, Camille following suit and watching her every move.

"So let me get this straight," Lena snapped. "You're my mother. You died right after I was born, and then you somehow came back to life. And instead of tracking me down and actually being a parent like you should have, you waited until I was half dead in order to make me _completely_ dead so we could have a conversation inside my own mind." She paused for a moment. "Did I get all that right?"

"Technically, yes," Camille said mildly. "There is much more to the story though."

"Oh wow, I can't wait to hear this," Lena said sarcastically, bitterness lacing her tone.

Just before Camille was about to speak though, the room shook violently and Lena gasped as she felt a terrible heat in her chest.

"Ah!" She shouted in pain, looking down at her chest to see what has caused it. "What the hell was that?"

"That would be your friend Tony Stark, I presume," Camille replied calmly. "He's currently electrocuting you."

**xXxXx**

"Come on," Tony murmured as he checked Lena for a pulse after shocking her with his hand repulsors the first time. "Dammit."

"Stark, what are you doing?" Thor asked in a dangerous tone, gripping Mjolnir tight.

"I'm giving her heart a little kick start," Tony mumbled in a low voice, raising his hands again. "JARVIS, 2% this time."

"_Sir," _JARVISreplied_, "That level of voltage is dangerous for–"_

"She's half-Asgardian, she'll be fine," Tony said quickly, desperation seeping into his veins. He'd be damned if he let Lena Sullivan die after saving his life. It was because of her that he would be able to see Pepper again, to tinker in his lab, to continue helping other people and being the snarky bastard that he was. "You don't get to die on me, Maggie Pie, not today," he whispered. "Clear!"

**xXxXx**

"Tony is _what_?" Lena asked in disbelief as the pain in her chest faded. "What the hell do you mean he's electrocuting me?"

"He's trying to get your heart to start beating again," Camille explained. "Although if he would just wait a little while longer your body will be functioning perfectly normally again."

"Well geez Mommy dearest, you can't exactly blame the guy for trying to save me when I'm _dead_!" Lena shouted, her loud voice dripping with sarcasm.

Camille chuckled. "Time moves differently here in the deepest parts of your mind," she said calmly. "I'm sure he will try again momentarily, but I have time to explain some things to you right now."

"And what if he gets my heart beating again?" Lena asked. "What then?"

"When your body starts functioning as it should, your mind will be closed off to me," Camille replied with a solemn expression. "It is only when you are in this weak of a physical state that I am able to access your conscious."

"You're dead," Lena said bluntly. "You died in that hospital room the day I was born. I've seen your death certificate. Zeke took me to your grave every year on Mother's Day."

"I know," Camille said with a small smile. "I watched you, every year. You and Zeke would always lay two tulips down, one of my favorite flower from the each of you. And then you would kiss the headstone and say, 'Happy Mother's Day, Mama. I hope you're having fun in Heaven.'"

Lena took a step back and stared in shock.

"How did you know that?" She asked in a barely audible whisper.

"Like I said, I watched you," Camille said. "The day that I died," she continued, folding her hands behind her back. "A group of people that I trusted with my life came and took my body away. I had known from the beginning that birthing you, a strong little girl with Asgardian blood running through her veins," she smiled proudly, "It would most likely kill me. So I found a group of people who specialized in making ordinary humans… not so ordinary anymore."

Lena let out a laugh of disbelief, surprising Camille.

"Sorry, it's just… I've got this friend that literally turns into a giant green rage monster because he tried to do the same thing once. So forgive me if I think you're a bit of an idiot."

"You reaction is completely justified," Camille said. "But fortunately for everyone, I do not turn green. In fact, the procedures I went through, though terrible and painful, worked perfectly fine."

"Is that so?" Lena asked suspiciously.

Suddenly another shock rattled the room and Lena doubled over as her chest erupted in even more pain.

"Dammit Tony," she muttered under her breath. "You have the worst timing in the world."

**xXxXx**

"Is it working?" Thor asked, crouching down next to his sister and pushing her hair back away from her face. Her skin was still warm to the touch.

"JARVIS, 2.5%," Tony said without answering Thor.

"_Sir_–"

"Just do it!" Tony shouted, repositioning his hands.

"Guys, we have to get to Loki," Steve said as calmly as he could muster. The Hulk let out a roar at the mention of Loki's name and hit the pavement restlessly.

"_Loki's not going anywhere,"_ Natasha said over the comms. "_Trust me, the Hulk did a number on him._"

Steve sighed, glancing over at where Clint was still sitting on the ground hiding his face, his shoulders shaking.

_She's gone, _Clint was thinking to himself_. She's gone and I didn't get to tell her I loved her. And I'll never get to tell her how I feel. _

Tony fired off the repulsors again.

**xXxXx**

After the second shock to her heart, Lena noticed that the room was starting to shake continually. She looked all around her as the white, never-ending walls seemed to be collapsing in on themselves.

"We don't have much time," Camille said quickly, a hint of panic in her voice. "Please, Magdalena, you must trust me."

"Trust you?" Lena shouted, cutting off the woman before she could say anything else. "I don't trust you! You abandoned me!"

"No, I didn't–"

"Don't lie!" Lena screamed, the shaking in the room getting worse with every second. "So you came back to life all powerful and not so human anymore, good for you. But for what?" She asked sharply. "So you could watch your kid lay flowers on your grave and never tell her that you were alive? I went 22 years thinking my father wanted nothing to do with me and my mother was dead!"

"And I am sorry!" Camille shouted back over the crashing sounds all around them. "But there is so much more that you just don't understand–"

"Oh I understand perfectly," Lena sneered. "You were selfish. You valued your own life more than you valued the quality of mine."

Camille flinched as though she had been slapped.

"And even though my father kept himself hidden from me for 22 years, at least he admitted his wrongdoings instead of saying I couldn't understand his actions," Lena hissed. "Odin is a hundred times better parent than you could ever be. So if you think I'm going to track you down and we're going to have some sort of adorable mother-daughter reunion you are _so_ wrong."

"I'm not asking for that," Camille said firmly. "I don't expect you to welcome me into your life with open arms because I know that I don't deserve it. What I am asking of you though is to find me after you wake so that I can show you your true potential."

"I know my potential!" Lena screamed, her body shaking as bad as the room was. "I am Lena Sullivan, daughter of Odin Allfather, sister of Thor. I am a protector of the earth and all of its inhabitants and _you_," she pointed a trembling finger at Camille angrily, "You don't get to tell me who I'm capable of being! You lost that privilege!"

Camille sighed in disappointment. "Find me, Lena," she said simply. "Find me, and everything will make sense."

Before Lena could open her mouth to make another angry retort, her chest flared up in agonizing heat and the room exploded around her.

**xXxXx**

Lena's body convulsed off the ground with a loud gasp, her back bending unnaturally as Tony's repulsors hit her chest for a third time. He scrambled off of her as the rest of the group jumped up in shock, Clint snapping his tear streaked face up from behind his hands.

"Damn," Tony murmured, looking down at his hands. "That actually worked."

"Lena!" Clint cried out hoarsely, scrambling to his feet and running over, falling beside her on one side with Thor on the other.

Lena gasped for breath, inhaling as deeply as she could and blinking rapidly. Her chest hurt like _hell_, and her head was spinning. She looked up as she breathed heavily, her eyes catching Thor and Clint's faces hovering right above her, Tony and Steve standing at her feet and looking on curiously, and the Hulk breathing heavily and flipping a car a little ways off.

"Hey guys," she rasped out. "What'd I miss?"

Thor laughed as Clint wrapped Lena in his arms and pulled her up against his chest. She hissed in pain and he immediately released her, saying "Sorry, sorry," as quickly as he could.

"It's fine," Lena said with a wince as she pulled herself up to a sitting position, leaning against Clint's shoulder as she caught her breath. "My chest just hurts a little bit. You know, from being electrocuted and all."

"Hey, I owed you," Tony said, pointing his metal index finger at her. "You brought me back to earth." He paused, looking at her sincerely. "Thank you."

Lena gave him a weak smile, blinking slowly. "No problem, Starky Poo," she murmured, closing her eyes and leaning all her weight on Clint.

"Sorry about that," she said feebly, looking up at Clint and then over at Thor. "Didn't mean to stay dead for so long."

Thor chuckled, reaching out and grabbing his sister's hand. "Don't you ever do that to us again, do you understand me?"

Lena squeezed his hand back as hard as she could muster, which wasn't very hard.

"I gotcha, bro," she mumbled, nodding weakly.

Thor stood up suddenly and walked over to Steve and Tony. Tony kept his eyes on Lena for a few more seconds before turning back to the other men as they discussed how to deal with Loki.

"Hey," Clint suddenly whispered in Lena's ear from where she sat with her back against his chest. She blinked her tired eyes slowly and leaned her head back and looked up at him.

"Hm?"

"I thought you were dead," Clint said somberly.

Lena chuckled, closing her eyes and laying her head back again.

"I _was_ dead," she emphasized. "It wasn't very fun either. I'll tell you all about it. But later. Right now I'm perfectly content just sitting here in your arms."

Clint smiled, pressing his lips to her temple and closing his eyes, reveling in the fact that she was very much _alive_.

"Don't go to sleep, okay?" He murmured into her ear. Lena only sighed, feeling comforted by his voice. "Hey," he shook her arm, "You have to stay awake, alright? We still have to take care of Loki and–"

"Loki," Lena suddenly whispered, snapping her eyes open. Clint let her go as she struggled to stand up to her feet. He followed suit, steadying her by the shoulders when she wobbled and almost fell over. "Where is he?" She asked in a hoarse voice.

"_In a heap in the middle of Stark's living room."_

Lena smiled, reaching up to touch her earpiece. "Nat," she breathed out, "I never thought I'd be so happy to hear your voice."

"_Likewise, Sparkstrike_." Lena could hear the smile in her friend's voice. "_Now get the hell up here before I kill this guy myself._"

**xXxXx**

Lena leaned into Clint's side as the two of them plus Steve, Thor, and Tony rode the elevator in complete silence up to the top of Stark Tower. Quite frankly, three out of the five of them could have flown, but they were just too damn tired.

The elevator reached the top floor and the doors opened with a ping. Clint and Lena were the last to step off, Clint keeping his arm securely wrapped around her waist. Lena was gradually getting her strength back, but it was taking a lot longer than usual.

Fortunately though, Lena was strong enough to let out a bark of laughter when she saw Loki lying in a heap of rubble on the floor, unconscious.

"Who did this?" She asked.

With perfect timing, the Hulk came flying onto the Tower's balcony, banging his fists on the floor and shaking the room as he approached the others. Clint's grip on Lena's waist tightened.

"Oh," Lena said simply. "Nice job, Hulk."

The group of heroes all maneuvered around one another and even though Clint offered to let Lena have the honors of threatening Loki, she shook her head and let him take the lead.

Loki let out a low groan, rolling onto his stomach without opening his eyes. He began to try and crawl away, only to freeze and turn around slowly.

Standing before him was a rather intimidating sight.

Clint Barton had an arrow pointed right at his eye socket. On either side of him flanked all of the Avengers with angry, victorious expressions. Lena and Thor stood side by side, both gripping their weapons tight and staring at him with not even a trace of sympathy.

The Avengers had won.

"If it's all the same to you," Loki said, his eyes flickering over to Tony, "I'll have that drink now."

**xXxXx**

"So what now?" Lena asked half an hour later as the group watched Loki be taken away by SHIELD. She smirked at the sight of Loki in a muzzle. It was quite fitting for the silver tongued trickster.

"Well Loki's going to be held by SHIELD overnight while NASA fashions a device to send he and Thor back to their world," Banner said as he buttoned up one of Tony's expensive shirts. He had de-Hulked about fifteen minutes ago and had been quite embarrassed to be as naked as he was.

"Where are you going to stay?" Steve asked Thor.

"You can crash with me," Lena said, but then yelped as Clint pinched her side. "O-Or not, actually. Yeah no, I'll actually be at SHIELD's other facility a… a ways away, and it's just a single room and… yeah."

Thor looked at Lena curiously at her odd tone, Clint biting his tongue to keep from bursting out laughing.

"You can stay with me, Hammertime," Tony clapped Thor on the shoulder, still clad in his metal suit. "Bruce has already got a room, I can spare one for you too. Actually, all of you can stay here. We'll have a nice little Avengers sendoff for Loki in the morning. We can make it a date, have it in Central Park. And besides," he turned to Lena with a smirk. "Having a whole floor to yourself in the Avengers Tower is probably a lot more… _roomy_ than a single bed, wouldn't you say, Maggie Pie?"

Lena narrowed her eyes at Tony, but he only smirked back at her before shooting Clint a wink.

"I would be quite grateful for that, Stark," Thor said sincerely, oblivious to the obvious reference to the crazy sex that his sister would most likely be having tonight.

"Wait a minute, Avengers Tower?" Lena asked suddenly. "Since when do you take your name off of anything ever?"

"Well," Tony shrugged as if it were no big deal, "All the other letters except the 'A' fell off the sign, and that'd be a bitch to replace, so I just figured–"

"I like it," Lena cut off his rambling with a smile. "I like it a lot."

Lena leaned into Clint's side, playing with his hair as the others began to chat amongst themselves about cleanup, and vacation time, and something called schwarma. Lena paid them no mind though, only stared into Clint's eyes as if they were the only people in the room.

"Thor's leaving tomorrow," Clint murmured under his breath, oddly relaxed by Lena's fingers combing through his messy hair.

"Yes he is," Lena replied nonchalantly.

"Are you…"

"I don't know," Lena answered his unspoken question on whether she would be joining her brother or not. "Everything is… complicated right now. And my brain hurts too much to try and make the right decision at the moment so I'm just going to pretend that the choice doesn't exist for the time being."

Clint smiled. "That's okay, too."

"Yes it is," Lena said matter-of-factly. Suddenly her gaze caught sight of the white bracelet she always wore on her wrist and she looked at it in confusion.

"What is it?" Clint asked in concern.

"My bracelet," Lena mumbled, lowering her hand to look down at her wrist.

"The one your mother left for you?"

"Yeah…"

Lena moved the bracelet away from its regular resting spot and hissed in pain. Underneath where the white band had been resting was a bright red mark, as if she had been burned.

"What the hell?" Clint asked, grabbing her hand gently and turning it over, inspecting the burn. It encircled her entire wrist. "How did you get this?"

Lena sighed, pursing her lips together. That bracelet had belonged to her mother once upon a time, and she had received it from her Uncle Zeke on her 18th birthday.

_I've been watching you for a while now. Since your eighteenth birthday._

That's what Camille had said to her when they were trapped in her mind. It wasn't a coincidence that Camille had been able to watch Lena's every move since the day that she had put on that bracelet.

"I think I have an idea," Lena answered Clint's question with a sigh, unhooking the bracelet and putting it in the pocket of her Sparkstrike suit. Clint looked down at her in confusion and she gave him a smile. "Don't worry. I'll explain everything when we get out of here. I promise."

"Hey!" Tony called out suddenly, getting the couple's attention. "You two can be all loved up later. Right now we're going to get schwarma. Have you guys heard of schwarma?"

"What the hell is schwarma?" Clint asked at the same time Lena yelled back, "You're buying!"

Later, Lena would deal with newly discovered parental drama and hard choices and magic bracelets and secrets that she shouldn't be keeping. But for now, she would eat schwarma with her friends.

With her team.

**xXxXx**

**A/N: Thoughts? Leave a review! **


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

**A/N: This chapter was so much fun to write, and I can't wait to hear what you guys think about it. Make sure to review!**

**xXxXx**

Lena stood in front of the massive window on the 30th floor of the newly dubbed Avengers Tower with her arms wrapped around herself, her hair still damp from the shower she had just taken.

After the team had gone and eaten schwarma – which was highly entertaining by the way – Tony had brought them all back to the tower and given them each a floor between levels 30 and 36, not trying in the least to be discreet when he put Thor on the highest floor and Lena on the lowest. His reason? You know, "so big brother won't have to be traumatized for the rest of his immortal life by you and Barton's sexy times."

Clint had punched him in the arm for that remark.

But once they had gotten to the tower, Clint and Lena had parted ways, each going to clean up and wind down for a couple hours. Clint had assured her that he would be down as soon as he could, but Lena had made a point to tell him to take all the time he needed. She knew the after effects of Loki's mind control was taking more of a toll on him than he was letting on.

He wasn't the only one with a guilt complex though.

Lena stared out at the city below illuminated by streetlights and moonlight, digging her fingernails into her arms hard enough to leave marks. Buildings were still on fire, SHIELD cleanup crews were dragging away Chitauri soldier corpses off of the street, ambulances rushed through the streets taking the thousands of injured to hospitals, and police were manning various stores to prevent looting. The battle against the Chitauri may have ended, but that didn't mean there was immediate peace.

And all Lena could feel was guilt. Guilt that she had let it get this far even though rationally she knew that there was no way she could have stopped Loki in time. She had helped save the entire world, but that didn't take away the fact that hundreds, maybe even thousands of innocent people had still died.

Suddenly the elevator across the room dinged, and Lena looked over her shoulder and smiled meekly when she saw Clint stepping in. He was wearing jeans and a Nirvana band t-shirt – courtesy of Tony obviously – and his hair was still damp just like hers. He must've just gotten out of the shower.

Clint smiled at her as well, crossing the massive room to stand behind Lena in front of the wall length window overlooking the city. She was wearing short white shorts and a black tank top that exposed a sliver of her midriff. Tony had winked at Clint when he'd handed the clothes over to Lena, whispering none too quietly, "You're welcome, Hawkguy."

Lena had been the one to punch him in the arm that time.

Clint wrapped his arms around Lena's waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. They looked over the ruined city together in silence for a minute or two, no need for words in the intimate moment.

"We did this," Lena finally said in a voice just above a whisper. "We destroyed the city."

"No we didn't," Clint said firmly. "Loki destroyed the city. We're the ones that saved it."

"We could've done better. So many people…"

"We could always do better," Clint replied, feeling Lena tense in his arms. "What's important is that we did our best and we did damn good. It's because of you and all of us that billions of people get to keep on living their lives. They get to go back to their boring jobs tomorrow, back to their families. They get to live."

Lena was silent, continuing to stare out at the city. Clint could tell she still felt guilty.

"You shouldn't be watching that," he said suddenly, letting her go and walking to the side of the room. He hit a button on the wall that tinted the windows as if curtains had been thrown over them.

Lena took a deep breath, turning on her heel and looking over at Clint as he walked back to her. She smiled, reaching out and grabbing both of his hands, intertwining their fingers as he stood right in front of her, mere inches separating them.

"How are you?" Clint asked in a low voice, meeting Lena's eyes.

Lena looked up and smiled genuinely, though it was pained.

"Better now that you're here," she said honestly.

"Any injuries?" Clint asked, looking her up and down. "Knocks on your noggin? Bumps or bruises?"

"Nope," Lena said matter-of-factly. "I've got a clean bill of health according to myself. Clean as a whistle."

"Your chest isn't hurting anymore?"

"It stopped hurting about thirty minutes ago," Lena replied. "Stark did a number on me, but I'm all healed up now. Except for this."

Lena held her wrist up and Clint's eyes widened at the bracelet shaped burn mark encircling her wrist that was still bright red.

"Shit, Lena," Clint said worriedly as he took her hand gently and inspected the burn. "Come here."

Clint led her over to the massive kitchen, sitting her down on a stool as he found the first aid kit and brought it over to her. They were silent for a few minutes other than Lena hissing in pain as he dabbed alcohol on the wound before wrapping it.

"Thanks," Lena said softly.

"Shouldn't this have healed by now?" Clint asked as he leaned back against the counter, his arms flexing as he propped himself up with his hands. "Why hasn't it?"

Lena shrugged. "I honestly don't know."

Clint sighed, licking his chapped lips. "You haven't put your bracelet back on?" He asked curiously.

Lena scoffed. "No, definitely not. I won't be putting that thing back on for a while."

"Lena what's going on?" Clint asked, catching her eye and showing her his concern. "You've worn that bracelet every day since I've met you and then it just randomly burns you and now it isn't healing." He paused. "Is there something else you're not telling me?"

Lena sighed and stood up, moving to stand in between his legs, leaning into him and placing her hands on his chest. She smiled when she felt his heart rate speed up.

"I promise," she said firmly, "That I will tell you everything that's going on, I'll explain it all. But for now, can we just… not? I'm still processing everything in my mind and I just… I can't right now. But I _will_ tell you. I promise." She placed a hand on Clint's cheek and looked deep into his eyes. "I just need some time."

Clint exhaled, taking Lena's hand from his cheek and turning it over, pressing his lips to her palm. She smiled.

"I don't want us to keep secrets from each other," Clint said firmly.

"I don't either. And I won't, I promise."

"So you won't keep any more secrets from like how Loki was in your dreams for over a month after he attacked you on the roof at HQ?"

Lena's eyes widened at Clint's bluntness and she floundered for a response, but couldn't find one.

"Loki told me about that," Clint said sadly. "Back when I was… But anyway, I'm not mad. I just wish you had _told_ me."

"I'm sorry," Lena said honestly. "I should've told you, and I'm sorry I didn't. But I was scared, and I didn't want to burden you–"

"Lena, this is a relationship," Clint cut her off. "We carry each other's burdens. You help carry mine and I help carry yours. But that can't work if we hide things from one another."

Lena nodded, looking down and biting her bottom lip to keep it from trembling.

"You're right," she said softly, taking a deep breath. "He showed me things," she said suddenly, snapping her gaze back up to Clint who was giving her his undivided attention. "Loki, he showed me these horrible, awful visions in my dreams about you, and Nat, and Thor, and everyone else that I love. And every time, I would try so hard to save you, but I never could. I had to watch everyone I care about die over and over and over again every time I closed my eyes. And then on the Helicarrier, my nightmares became a reality. I watched helplessly as Thor was dropped right in front of my eyes, and I held Coulson when he died."

Lena took a deep, shaky breath, blinking rapidly to keep tears from falling.

"That's three, Clint," she continued. "Three of the most important men in my life have died in my arms. First Zeke, then Jem, and now Coulson. And I keep being selfish enough to let more and more people into my life knowing what always happens to them. If you, Thor, Steve, Bruce, Nat, or hell even Tony dies, it's going to be _my_ fault."

"Stop right there," Clint said sharply, taking Lena's face gently in his hands. "You listen to me, Lena Sullivan. Zeke and Jem died long before you got involved with monsters and magic, and even though it was awful, their deaths couldn't be stopped by anyone. And Coulson died protecting you. That isn't a reason to blame yourself, it's a reason to celebrate what kind of man he was. I loved Coulson, he saved my punk ass a hundred times over. And believe me when I say that I do _not_ blame you for his death."

Lena's bottom lip trembled and Clint wiped away a few stray tears from her cheeks.

"And me and the rest of the team?" He continued, "You're not losing us anytime soon. You loving us doesn't put us in danger, it gives us more strength than you can imagine." He paused, licking his lips and lowering his hands to lace his fingers through Lena's.

"When I was under Loki's mind control," Clint began to say.

"Clint you don't have to–"

"Yes, I do," he said firmly. "When Loki had me under his spell, he made me see things too. Except instead of not being able to save you, I was the one killing you. And then that became a reality. Twice. I almost killed you two times, Lena," he said in a strained voice.

"But you came back," Lena said firmly, squeezing his hand.

"Yeah, I did. Because of _you_. You were the only thing that brought me back. Your voice cut through the fog, cut through Loki's control." He paused, standing up to his full height and putting his hands on Lena's waist.

"You are the best thing in my life, Lena Sullivan. Over SHIELD, over anything. If you want me to quit SHIELD, I'll quit. If you want to run away together, we'll run away. If you want me to dye my hair black and change my name to Joey, hell I'll do that too."

Lena chuckled, looking up at him incredulously.

"Joey?"

Clint shrugged. "It was the first name that popped into my head."

He looked down at Lena and smiled a beautiful, genuine smile down at the girl that his whole world revolved around. She was like the sun, keeping him centered with his feet on the ground while simultaneously lighting up his whole universe.

"Seriously though," he continued, "I'm yours, okay? Our stupid breakup from before all of this happened doesn't matter."

"Space up," Lena said quickly.

Clint looked down at her in confusion. "What?"

"It was a space up," Lena said firmly. "Not a break up. You know, because I asked for space when I was all whacked out, and you were all like, 'I'm going to take this mission and you can have all the space you need,'" she imitated his voice.

"Okay first of all, that is _not_ how I sound," Clint argued.

"Mmm, it kinda is."

"Is not."

"I'm just saying, you were the one who–"

Lena was cut off as Clint leaned down and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. She was startled at first, but quickly melted into his arms. She raised her arms lazily and wrapped them around his neck, her eyes fluttering shut as she leaned into his chest, their bodies pressed together tightly.

They kissed like that for a few minutes, mouths moving slowly against one another as if they had all the time in the world.

"I don't want you to quit SHIELD," Lena said as they broke apart with a gasp. They leaned their foreheads against each other, not wanting anything more than a breath of space separating them. "I don't want you to quit SHIELD, or run away with me, or change your name."

Lena leaned her head back and looked up into Clint's eyes fervently, placing her hand on his cheek as the moment seemed to stretch on forever.

"I just want _you_."

Clint's heart swelled at her words and he leaned back down and pressed his lips to hers quickly and forcefully, pulling back a mere second later.

"I am in love with you, Lena Sullivan."

Lena jerked her head back and looked up at him in shock.

"I love you with all of my heart and I think a part of me has loved you since the day you kicked my ass after crash landing in the middle of the New Mexico desert." He grinned wildly, his heart feeling ten times lighter with the declaration. "I loved you yesterday and I love you today and I'll love you tomorrow. And the day after that and the day after that. You are _everything_ to me, Lena. I love you."

Lena stared up at him, her lip trembling as she stared at him open mouthed. She tried to say it back, she tried to form the same words, but she just… couldn't.

"Don't," Clint said quickly, shaking his head. "Don't say it back. I didn't tell you that because I wanted you to feel like you have to say it back, I said it because I mean it. And when you died…" He trailed off for a moment, shaking his head at the painful memory. "I thought that I would never have the chance to tell you. So I'm saying it right now so that you know, no matter what, that I love you."

Lena continued to stare up at him wordlessly, her voice caught in her throat. Clint chuckled awkwardly.

"Come on Lena, say something," he begged. "If you don't–"

He was cut off as Lena threw herself into his arms, pressing her lips firmly to his. Clint stumbled back a few steps at the force of her launching herself at him, but quickly responded in kind, groaning as he tangled his fingers in her hair and pressed his face harder to hers.

"I'm staying," Lena said with a gasp, breaking apart and looking up at him with wide-eyed excitement.

"What?" Clint asked in confusion, blinking away the haze of arousal behind his eyes.

Lena grinned. "I'm staying. On earth. I'm not going back to Asgard tomorrow. I'm staying here," she touched his stunned face lightly, "With _you_."

"Really?" Clint asked, hope lacing his voice as he smiled in disbelief.

Lena nodded furiously and Clint laughed, taking her back in his arms and kissing her deeply.

"That is," Lena said teasingly as she pulled away, "If you still want me to stay. Because I mean I can always – ah!"

Clint grabbed Lena mid-sentence around the waist and threw her over his shoulder, striding towards the bedroom.

"Clint!" Lena shrieked, yelping as he threw her down on the bed onto her back.

Her eyes went wide though when she looked up and saw Clint pulling his shirt over his head and throwing it to the floor before kneeling on the bed and crawling over her. She laid down and stared up at him in shock as his handsome, confident face hovered over hers with a smirk.

"Woah," Lena deadpanned. "You really know how to turn a girl on."

"Lena Sullivan," Clint said in a husky voice as he continued to smirk, "I'm about to give you the best night of your life."

Lena grinned, leaning up to hover hip lips over his.

"Well it's about damn time."

**xXxXx**

A few sweaty hours later, Lena and Clint were tangled up underneath the sheets together, Lena running her fingers over Clint's chest as he laid back with his hands behind his head.

"So let me get this straight," Clint said dramatically, looking down at the top of Lena's head. "Your mother is… alive? As in, not dead?"

"Yes."

"And she's the one that killed you?" He asked in even further disbelief.

Lena sighed. "Technically she said that she 'induced my state of physical weakness' so that she could get inside my head."

"So she killed you?"

Lena looked up at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Yeah, pretty much."

"And now she wants you to find her?" He asked incredulously, flashes of anger behind his eyes.

"Yes."

Clint threw his hands up exasperatedly. "That's bullshit!"

"Right?!" Lena asked, glad that he could also see how insane the situation was.

"She abandoned you your whole life then wants you to be her friend after _killing_ you?" He asked in angered skepticism. "_You_ should kill _her_!"

"I'm considering it," Lena grumbled. "But don't worry," she met his eyes, raising a hand to caress his cheek. "I'm not going to go looking for Mother Dearest anytime soon."

"Good," Clint said firmly, taking her hand and squeezing it. "And don't put on that bracelet again until we get someone to look at it. And your burn too."

Lena sighed, looking down at her other hand where some of the blood from her burn had seeped through the bandage.

"Oh don't worry, I won't," she murmured in reply. "I think I've had more drama in my life in the past 6 months than most people have in a lifetime."

Clint's brow furrowed at her dejected tone and he was silent for a couple minutes. After a bit though, he maneuvered on his side, leaning over Lena and gently pushing her hair away from his face as she looked up at him with a lazy, contented smile.

"What do you want?" He finally asked in a soft voice. "Anything. Just tell me, I'll get it for you."

Lena giggled. "I don't want anything. I have more than enough. I've got my friends, my family. And I have you. That's all I need."

"Come on," Clint pressed with a grin. "There's gotta be something you want. Tell me."

Lena was silent for a few seconds, biting down on her lip as she debated whether or not to tell Clint her secret dream. She looked up at him from underneath her long eyelashes, her skin still glowing from their earlier activities.

"I know you're thinking about something," Clint said with a smirk. "Spill it, Sullivan."

Lena sighed. "Fine," she muttered, but smiled back up at him. "A house."

"A house?" Clint repeated lamely.

"Yeah," Lena nodded with a look of slight embarrassment. "A little house in the country. I guess you could say a farm, really."

"A farm?"

"Yes, a farm!" Lena shot back, pushing his bare chest playfully. "You asked the question, now will you listen?" Clint held his hands up in surrender and pursed his lips together in a grin. "But yes, I want a farm. Out in the country somewhere, you know? A nice house, lots of land. Maybe a few horses or something, I don't know."

"Horses are nice," Clint remarked.

"And a big kitchen so I can actually learn to cook, and lots of room for any kids that could come along."

"Kids?" Clint asked incredulously, his eyes widening. "You've been thinking about _kids_?"

"You haven't?" Lena shot back, her eyebrows raising in challenge.

Clint paused. Of course he had thought about having kids with Lena before. Hell he practically had names picked out. He could already imagine a little blonde haired miniature Lena running through the kitchen and jumping into his arms, calling him, 'Daddy.' He could see himself teaching his son how to shoot a bow while Lena looked on fondly. He could see them having the picture perfect family.

He smiled, looking down at Lena who was staring up at him knowingly.

"Yeah, I have," he said softly. "Go on."

Lena grinned, her heart swelling that both she and Clint had imagined their future together.

"Well, two kids to be more precise," she continued matter-of-factly. "A boy and a girl, to look after one another. We'll have lots of room so they can play, and a big master bedroom for us–"

"You know this farm is sounding better by the second."

"–And it can be an escape," Lena said wistfully. Clint was silent as he looked down at her, those beautiful eyes of hers bright with life. "An escape from this crazy, messed up world, and all the other equally crazy realms. Somewhere just for me and you, and whatever family we might start one day."

Lena met Clint's eyes, seeing him look down at her with an unreadable expression.

"You think it's stupid," she deadpanned, feeling more than embarrassed now.

"No, no," Clint said quickly, brushing her hair back again. "The opposite, actually. I think you're amazing." Lena's eyes widened at his gentle tone. "Absolutely amazing. And I swear to you right now, I'll make that happen for you one day."

Lena shook her head and chuckled nervously.

"It's just a pipe dream–"

"It's a valid dream," Clint argued firmly. "Just because you're a superhero doesn't mean you can't want the simple things in life."

"I can't," Lena said, looking at him with a sad expression. "I can't have a family, or normalcy. I have duties, obligations. My life is constantly in danger. Even though I don't work for SHIELD anymore, I can't just hide myself away from the world. Or Asgard, for that matter. I might not be going back with Thor tomorrow, but I _will_ have to go back eventually. I'm a princess for crying out loud."

"And your brother was supposed to be king and look what he's up to," Clint countered quickly. "Don't you think Thor will find a way to be with that Foster girl somehow?" He paused, squeezing Lena's hand tightly. "You control your own life, Lena. You can live whatever life you want to live. And if you want a farm, I'll make damn sure you get a farm."

Lena laughed, biting her lip as she looked up at the man that held her heart. The man who loved her.

"Okay," she whispered.

Clint smiled down at her, pressing his lips to hers chastely.

"Now," he pulled away with a serious expression, mischievously running his hand up her bare leg that was poked out from under the sheets. "What was that about two kids?"

Lena laughed loudly as he pulled the covers over them and they fell into one another all over again.

**xXxXx**

The next day, Lena held Clint's hand as he drove one of Tony's Lamborghini's towards Central Park where they were meeting up with the rest of the team to see Thor and Loki off. Lena was nervous, her foot tapping restlessly as she thought about how she was going to explain to her brother that she wasn't joining him back on Asgard and didn't know when she would be.

"Do you remember," Clint said suddenly, grabbing Lena's attention, "That day in the broom closet back in DC?"

Lena laughed. "You're gonna have to be more specific, babe."

Clint shot her a smirk, and Lena wished she could've seen his eyes behind his sunglasses.

"I'm talking about that time when you said that you'd pick me in a broom closet over Tony Stark in a Lamborghini any day."

Lena smiled, the memory from over two months ago making her heart swell.

"Yeah, I remember," she said fondly.

"Well," Clint said as he pulled up into the blocked off park area, parking right next to Steve's motorcycle. He unbuckled his seat belt and leaned over towards Lena. "Now you get me _and_ a Lamborghini."

Lena laughed, plucking his sunglasses off of his face and putting them over her own eyes. He looked at her in irritation, but Lena knew he thought she was adorable.

"Lucky me," she said with a smirk, kissing Clint quickly on the lips before stepping out of the car.

The sun was shining and the birds were chirping as Lena looked all around, Clint rushing over to close her door for her like a gentlemen. She grinned up at him but then grumbled when he took his sunglasses back from her and put them over his eyes.

They stepped over towards the others hand-in-hand, Natasha smiling at them briefly. Clint started to lead them over to her, but Lena pulled on his arm and he turned to look at her curiously.

"I'll be right back," she said softly, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek before turning and striding over to Thor.

"Hey you," Lena said as she approached her brother. He whirled around, his red cape swirling behind him and Mjolnir in his hand.

"Sister," he smiled widely. His smile fell away though when he saw Lena's expression. "You're not coming with us," he said bluntly, knowing the answer without having to even ask the question.

Lena took a deep breath, shaking her head and biting her lip to keep back the tears at the sound of his disappointment.

"No." She forced a sad smile. "No, I'm not. I have to be here right now, it's just… I can't leave quite yet. I'm sorry, Thor. I'm so, so sorry."

"Do not apologize, Lena," Thor said quickly, stepping closer to his sister. "I see the way you look at him."

Lena smiled genuinely that time, looking over at her shoulder where Clint was laughing with Nat and Steve about something. Clint caught her watching him and tilted his head down, lowering his sunglasses to the bridge of his nose and winking.

"But if he hurts you again," Thor said suddenly. Lena laughed loudly and turned back to her brother.

"Thor, if Clint hurts me you have my full permission to unleash whatever tortures you could come up with on him."

"Good," Thor said firmly. He looked down at Lena for a moment before dropping Mjolnir to the ground and wrapping his sister in a massive embrace. "I will miss you, sister."

Lena sniffled into his broad chest, hugging him back as tightly as she could. "I'll miss you too," she rasped out.

"Oh, oh," she said quickly, pulling back and looking up at Thor with a serious expression, furiously wiping away her tears. "And I need you to let Odin and Frigga know that I'm fine, that I'm healthy and everything is okay now and I miss them. And Sif – oh God, tell Sif that I miss her like hell, do you understand me? And let Fandral know I miss his stupid flirting and charming self, and tell Volstagg I'll bring him some Midgardian food when I'm back next."

Lena was full on crying then, sniffling through her tears.

"A-And tell Hogun I miss our chats," she choked out. "And make sure to let Heimdall know that – oh God, what do I say to Heimdall?"

"Lena, Lena," Thor said quickly with an amused smile, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Don't fret. I will tell our parents and our companions just how well you are." He looked down at her with a fond expression and placed a hand on the side of her hand. "I will tell all of Asgard how _proud_ they should be of their Daughter."

Lena's lip trembled and she bit down on it hard, throwing her arms around Thor's neck and hugging him again.

"I love you, brother."

"And I love you, sister," Thor replied in his deep, rumbling voice. He picked her up off the ground for just a second before setting her back down and stepping away. "Farewell, Lena. Come home soon. And do check on Jane for me, will you?"

"I will," Lena whispered with smile.

"Agent Barton," Thor called out suddenly over Lena's head. Clint looked away from Natasha and over at the siblings. "You have been tasked by all of Asgard to protect my sister with your life."

Lena could tell that Clint's eyes widened behind his sunglasses at Thor's scarily authoritative voice.

"Right," Clint called back, giving a salute. "Roger that."

"Don't worry, Hammertime," Tony called out as the entire team all walked up to one another. "I think Maggie Pie is probably the safest little half-Asgardian in the world what with the Avengers looking after her and all."

"Tony, I'm pretty sure I'm the _only_ half-Asgardian in the world," Lena shot back, raising an eyebrow.

"Nonetheless," Steve interjected with a smile. "We'll all look after her. We'll look after each other."

"We're all going different ways," Natasha said wryly. "Aren't we?"

"Yeah, but we're still going to be a team," Lena said, everyone's eyes landing on her. "We'll always be a team, won't we? I mean, we saved the planet together. And no matter where we go from here, or what happens in the future, _this_ team will always be just that: a team. The Avengers. Earth's Mightiest Heroes."

Everyone in the group looked at one another fondly, and for once, Tony Stark didn't have a sarcastic retort to throw out there.

"Well said, babe," Clint murmured as he put an arm around Lena's waist and kissed the top of her forehead. Lena smiled, wrapping both of her arms around him and leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I must go now, my friends," Thor said as Tony brought out the case with the Tesseract.

Everyone watched as Bruce used tongs to lift out the cube and place it into a glass case with two handles on each end. Once the case was closed, a group of SHIELD agents led Loki over to Thor. Lena laughed then covered her mouth to quiet herself when she saw Loki handcuffed and muzzled.

"I still say we should've killed the bastard," Clint muttered under his breath.

"No, he'll face Asgardian justice," Lena said firmly. "And trust me when I say that good old Pops won't go easy on him."

"I'll just be glad when he's gone," Banner said meekly, catching Lena's eye.

"Yeah," Lena replied, leaning into Clint as she watched her two brothers. "Me too."

The rest of the team all stood side by side as the agents led Loki over to the device. Thor was tense, refusing to make eye contact with his brother as he extended the device for Loki to take the other handle. Loki looked down at it, but didn't take it right away.

"What's he doing?" Clint murmured, but Lena barely heard him.

Loki was staring right at Lena. His eyes bored into her own and she couldn't look away. He was trying to tell her something just by his gaze, that much was clear. Lena's body ran cold at his cruel eyes, getting the sense that he was asking, 'don't you want to know what I know?'

Loki knew something. He had answers to some if not all questions that were plaguing Lena's mind. Loki was the master of tricks, of _course_ he had information about her that he was withholding until it suited his plans. Did Lena have it in her to let those questions remain unanswered?

Clint jumped as Lena suddenly moved to stand in front of him, staring up at him with an unreadable expression.

"Lena, what's wrong?" He asked worriedly.

Lena stared up at Clint's green eyes, her mouth slightly parted. She hated herself for what she was about to do, she absolutely hated herself. But she had to do it.

"I love you," Lena blurted out.

Clint's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"What?" He choked out in disbelief.

Lena grinned up at him, placing a hand on his face and kissing him hard. The kiss only lasted about two seconds, but Lena poured every bit of love and affection into it that she could muster. When she pulled away, Clint was blinking stars away from his eyes.

"Just remember that," Lena said quickly, staring into his confused eyes. "Remember that I love you, with all my heart." She paused, her smile falling. "And I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Clint echoed lamely. "Sorry for what? I – wait! Lena!"

While Clint was mid-sentence, Lena turned on her heel and took off after Thor and Loki.

"Lena!" Clint shouted, his feet finally catching up with his brain. Steve and Tony had jumped into action too, the three men running after her.

But they weren't fast enough. Lena was grinning wildly as she grabbed the back of Thor's cape the second Thor turned the handle of the device, hanging on for the ride as all three siblings were whisked back up to Asgard in a flash of magnificent light.

Clint jumped after Lena, reaching for her hand, but he missed her by just a second. He stumbled forward into thin air as she, Thor, and Loki all disappeared into thin air.

Steve and Tony came running up beside Clint breathless, but he paid them no mind as he fell to his knees right where Lena had just been standing.

But now she was gone all over again.

**xXxXx**

**A/N: I really love cliffhangers, don't I? Did anyone see that coming or did I convince you guys she was going to stay up until that last little plot twist? *evil laughter* Make sure to review! **


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

**A/N: Alright I'm going to be straight up about this chapter: it moves quickly. It's long, but the scenes are short and to the point. And I only say this because the several events I cover in this chapter are important, but not AS important as the events that are being set up for FUTURE chapters. So pay close attention, and stick along for the ride. Don't give up on me yet ;) And PLEASE review!**

**xXxXx**

It took Lena less than half a second after being whisked up to Asgard with her brothers to realize that grabbing Thor's cape instead of his hand or his arm was probably not the smartest idea.

She shrieked as she was yanked up and through the universe off to her other home realm, clutching onto Thor's cape for dear life and hoping and praying the fabric wouldn't tear and send her flying off into a random space in the universe. Fortunately for her, they reached Asgard in just about three seconds.

_Un_fortunately though, while Thor and Loki landed on their feet with practiced ease, Lena lost her grip on Thor's cape and went skidding across the bridge leading into Asgard and right over the edge.

"Ah!" Lena screamed as she flailed, reaching for the edge to keep from plummeting to the choppy waters below, but to no avail, her hand missing it by inches.

Then, in the nick of time, a large, dark hand reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, stopping her fall.

Lena gasped, looking away from the dangerous waters that would have surely meant her demise and up at her rescuer.

"Heimdall," she whispered in disbelief, grinning wildly.

The gatekeeper smiled the smile that he only gave to Lena, his orange eyes bright as they stared down at her.

"My Princess," he said in that deep vibrato that Lena had missed so much.

Lena laughed happily as Heimdall easily lifted her back up onto the bridge and set her on her feet. She instantly launched herself into his arms, hugging him tightly around the neck. To her surprise, he hugged her back gently, making sure not to hurt her with his terrifying strength.

"Oh Heimdall, I missed you," she whispered, clinging to her friend for dear life.

"And I you, Lady Lena."

"Lena!" Thor shouted suddenly, and the pair turned to see him stalking up to her while several Asgardian guards rode up on horseback. "What were you thinking?" He yelled exasperatedly, holding his hands out at his side.

"What?" Lena asked in confusion, stepping away from Heimdall. "I was thinking that I wanted to come home," she replied as if it were obvious.

"You could have been killed!" Thor shouted back at her. "You would have fallen off the bridge were it not for Heimdall, or been lost in the thralls of the universe, or…" he stopped, smiling suddenly. "Oh never mind. You're home."

Lena grinned back enthusiastically.

"I'm home," she echoed, jumping forward and hugging him as well.

**xXxXx**

"Lena!"

"Frigga!"

Lena broke away from Thor and ran through Odin's throne room, her black boots clacking loudly as she threw herself into her adoptive mother's arms. Frigga clutched her tight and Lena could tell that she was crying.

"Oh, Mom," Lena said, pulling back as Frigga furiously wiped away her tears. "It's okay, you can cry. Hell I've cried like a hundred times this past week."

Frigga laughed, wiping her eyes and pulling herself together.

"No, no. A queen must never let her people see her moments of weakness."

Lena scoffed. "Screw that, I've been gone for months you better cry!" She shouted, hugging Frigga once again.

"Oh I have missed you, sweet child," Frigga said, looking down at the girl she had claimed as her own daughter, smoothing down her hair. "This place just hasn't been the same without you. Especially since you left without saying goodbye."

"Right," Lena said as she cringed under Frigga's mild scolding. "Sorry about that. But hey, it was kind of necessary. And I've been doing a lot of really awesome things, by the way. I'm sure that Heimdall–"

"There she is!"

Lena spun around on her heel at the sound of Volstagg's booming voice. He, Sif, Fandral, and Hogun were all running into the throne room as well. Lena's smile was so wide she thought it might split her cheeks.

"Guys!" She shouted, breaking out into yet another sprint. She reached Fandral first and he caught her midair, lifting her feet high off the ground and spinning her around madly.

"Oh you beautiful fool, how we've missed you!" Fandral shouted as he let her down. Lena looked up at him gleefully, raising her eyebrows.

"Is that a new beard style, Dashing?" She asked with a wink as he gave her a smug smile.

"My turn!" Volstagg shouted, turning Lena around by the shoulder and hugging her tightly, pinning her arms to her side.

"Oh gosh… Volstagg… can't breathe…"

"Oh right of course," Volstagg said quickly, releasing her. "I tend to forget you're still a little Midgardian."

"Not so little I can't hug you back!" Lena shouted, wrapping her arms around Volstagg's giant stomach and hugging him as hard as she could. He laughed boisterously, embracing her in a manner that didn't threaten to suffocate her.

Lena let go of Volstagg and turned to Hogun, giving him a wry smile that of course was barely returned.

"Hogun," she said with a grin, holding out her arms. "Come on now, bring it in."

Wordlessly, in typical Hogun fashion, he stepped forward and hugged her mildly, barely seeming to put any real emotion into it. But then he whispered, "We've missed you," into her ear in his thick accent where nobody else could hear, and Lena grinned.

"Forgetting somebody?"

Lena spun around so fast she was afraid she'd get whiplash, grinning at Sif. Her best friend stood there with a small smile, trying to contain her excitement. Sif looked beautiful as always, her long, dark hair falling around her armor clad shoulders in gorgeous waves.

"Sif," Lena breathed out through a beaming smile, running and wrapping her arms around her friend and squeezing her tightly. A huge weight felt lifted off of Lena's shoulders and the two girls embraced for a minute or so.

"Are you quite alright?" Sif asked as she pulled back, she and the Warriors Three noticing the tears on Lena's face.

"I'm fine," Lena said through sniffles, smiling at her friends. "I just missed you guys more than I originally thought. Things have been kind of crazy lately, but now that I'm here everything just feels… right," she said with a smile.

And everything _did_ feel right. Everything except the fact that she had just left the man she loved behind without any explanation other than, "I love you," and "I'm sorry."

But before Lena had any time to dwell on that, the doors behind them opened up with a loud sound, none other than Thor and Odin striding into the room side by side from where they had just left Loki after securing him in a cell deep below the palace.

Lena's breath caught in her throat and Odin froze as well upon seeing his daughter. Everyone else in the room stepped off to the side as father and daughter stared at one another.

Lena was smiling wryly as she slowly approached the Allfather, coming to a stop just in front of him.

"Magdalena," Odin greeted tersely in his deep, serious voice.

"Pops."

Odin's one eye narrowed as she called him the nickname he despised as a response to his use of her birth name. Lena raised her eyebrows in an amusing challenge.

"You left Asgard to go after your brother without my express permission," Odin stated bluntly.

"Yes I did," Lena agreed matter-of-factly, not intimidated in the slightest. "I didn't know I needed your permission. I was allowed to come and go as I please, remember?"

Odin sighed, no traces of emotion on his face. "You also remained on Midgard even when your brother returned."

"Sure did," Lena snapped back. "But you're leaving out a few details. Like how I helped my brother and our friends here protect a small town from our other brother when he went a little nutso while you took a nap."

Odin opened his mouth to snap a loud retort, but Lena held up her hand and, much to everyone else's amazement, Odin fell silent. Only Lena Sullivan, the King's own daughter, could give _him_ an order it seemed.

"Not to mention," Lena continued, "I tried to come back, but _somebody_ destroyed the Bifrost." Lena looked to the side and glared at Thor for a second, but he just shrugged. "And then," she turned back to Odin, "I've spent the last week getting my ass kicked by Loki, who Thor and I and some other really awesome people finally defeated with no help from you. I've been pretty busy lately taking out arms dealers, human traffickers, terrorists, and oh yeah, I also helped defeat a Chitauri army and kind of saved an entire planet."

Odin was silent, as was the rest of the room.

"So before you give me any flack," she added sharply, "Keep in mind that your two kids," she pointed between herself and Thor, "Are pretty freaking awesome. And I really don't feel like being on the receiving end of your unjustified indignation today, thank you very much."

All of the onlookers seemed to be holding their breath. _Nobody_ talked to Odin like that without getting verbally or physically beat down. Frigga was the only one who didn't look the least bit worried.

Then, to everyone's surprise, Odin smiled.

"My dear Lena," he said gravely, "The Daughter of Asgard, returned home once more."

Lena smiled widely, throwing herself into her father's arms and hugging him as tightly as she could. He hugged her back with equal strength.

"I missed you too, Pops," Lena whispered where only he could hear her.

**xXxXx**

"Fandral no, no," Lena waved her friend off with a laugh. "I've had enough to drink already, I promise."

"What?" Fandral asked incredulously, looking down at her one empty cup that was now only half full of ale. "You've barely drank a drop!"

"Fandral, she's half-Midgardian," Sif said as she appeared around behind Lena, wrapping her arms around her friend's shoulders where Lena was sitting down on a bench. "Our dear Lena simply can't hold her ale the way that we full-blooded Asgardian warriors can."

"You know it's a good thing I love you guys," Lena muttered, leaning back into Sif and chuckling as she looked up at her friend upside down. "Because you all know how much I hate these feasts."

"Nonsense!" Volstagg shouted. Lena put her hands over Sif's and looked on in amusement as Volstagg sat across from her with meat juice dripping all down his great red beard. "Everyone loves feasts! The dancing, the drinking, the–"

"The food?" Lena finished for him, her other friends laughing along with her.

"Lena darling," Fandral suddenly said, stepping off of the bench and kneeling down in front of her. Lena laughed, glancing over her shoulder at Sif, who sat down beside her gracefully in her long red gown.

"Fandral what are you doing?" Lena asked through her chuckles.

"I must ask of you," Fandral said dramatically over the music. Lena saw Thor and Hogun walking up to them with amused expressions upon seeing her predicament. "My beautiful, lovely, graceful friend…"

Lena looked over at Thor, mouthing the word, "_Graceful_?" He only laughed.

"If I would have the honor," Fandral drunkenly continued, "Of sharing a dance with you while you are wearing that _stunning_ gown."

Lena laughed, looking down at herself. She did look stunning, and it had only taken her two ridiculously long hours to get ready. Her hair was pinned up in an intricate braid that laid around her head like a crown, her makeup shimmering and bright. Her dress though was the most stunning: silver (of course) with a lace bodice that accentuated her every curve.

"Dashing," Lena addressed Fandral as she giggled, "You're drunk."

"That may be the case!" He shouted. "But my question still stands. Please dance with me and make every other man in the room envious of my good fortune!"

"Fandral, my friend," Thor suddenly boomed, clapping his hand on Fandral's shoulder. "Lena cannot dance with you because she is already spoken for."

The rest of the group rose up in a chorus of "ooo"s and Lena rolled her eyes, but smiled all the same.

"Oh shutup," Lena muttered as Thor and Hogun joined their table. Fandral remained on one knee though, a dejected look of disappointment on his handsome face.

"I am heartbroken!" He shouted dramatically. "Who is this man who has stolen the only woman I have ever loved?"

"Fandral you've loved at _least_ a thousand women in your lifetime!" Sif said incredulously.

"Shhh," he shushed her, making the group laugh once again as he clambered to his feet and plopped back down next to Volstagg.

"But truly," Volstagg said, "Who is this mystery man?"

Lena said nothing, only looked down at her empty plate as heat rushed to her cheeks.

"Oh no, you don't get out of this that easy," Sif said, bumping Lena's shoulder with her own. "Tell us! Is it that handsome bowman that fought the Destroyer with us on earth?"

Lena froze, looking up and meeting Thor's amused eyes.

"It is!" Sif shouted. "Oh I knew it! What is it with Odin's children falling in love with Midgardians?"

"Leave her alone, Sif," Thor said, catching his sister's eye with a smile. "Clint Barton is a worthy man for my sister."

"I will strike him down!" Fandral yelled drunkenly, propping his head on his chin.

"Oh be quiet, Fandral," Lena muttered, and he grumbled something else unintelligible before his eyes closed and he instantly fell asleep with his head in his hand. "Anyway," she turned back to her other friends, "Yes, I am spoken for. And he is… a very good man."

"Oh, our little Lena is in love!" Volstagg shouted raucously upon seeing her wistful expression.

"Yes I am," Lena replied with a small smile. "I am very, very in love. Though," her smile dropped, "He's probably not so happy with me right now."

"Why is that?" Sif asked in concern.

"Well considering I told him I loved him for the first time and then ran away from him and came back to Asgard without a single word of warning–"

"Lena!" Sif shouted in disbelief.

"I know, I know," Lena murmured shamefully, hiding her face in her hands. "I'm terrible, and now he probably hates me."

"Does he love you?"

Lena and the others all turned to look at Fandral as he slurred with his eyes still closed. Lena caught Sif's eye and chuckled before looking back to him.

"What was that, Fandral?"

"I asked, does he love you?" He repeated himself dramatically.

"Yes," Lena said warily. "He loves me."

"Then he won't remain angry with you," Fandral continued, half-awake with his head in his hand. "His love will go beyond the petty distances of the universe and he will take you in his arms and forgive you for the…"

Fandral's drunken words of wisdom about love and relationships trailed off as he began to snore.

"Wow," Lena said with wide eyes, looking back to her friends. "We need to get Fandral drunk more often."

**xXxXx**

**3 WEEKS LATER**

"Lena, you must see reason."

"What reason?" Lena shouted, whirling back around to her father from where she stood at the bottom of the steps leading up to his giant golden throne. "Loki has been in that cell since Thor and I returned with him. You told me the day that I arrived that I could speak with him after a few weeks. It's been a few weeks!"

"Perhaps I would be more lenient if you would tell me just why you wish to speak so fervently with the man who attempted to decimate your home realm," Odin snapped.

Lena froze. In her 3 weeks in Asgard she had yet to tell Odin – or anyone for that matter – that her mother was still alive. Not that she hadn't tried, because she had – several times actually. But Odin was simply extremely busy with politics among the other realms.

The entire universe was scared and shaken by Loki's attack on earth, and that fear would remain for a while. Lena had joined him on a few of those visits, travelling with Odin by his own magic since the Bifrost was still destroyed, and it was quite exciting to see the diversity of the various other realms.

And now that Lena had the opportune moment to explain the truth of her mother's well-being to her father, she couldn't do it. She dreaded the look on his face if she told him that the woman he had loved – his greatest sin – was still alive and he had been tricked for 22 years into thinking she was dead.

"I just want answers," Lena finally said, not necessarily lying. "I want to understand why he hates me so much."

"Loki is beyond reason, his mind is–"

"I don't want to reason with him, Odin," Lena interrupted exasperatedly. "But please, please let me speak with him. I just want answers, I don't want to give him any sympathy because he damn well doesn't deserve it."

Odin sighed, and Lena could tell that he was considering her plea thoughtfully.

"I am sorry, Lena," he finally said. "But my order still stands. Loki is to remain in total isolation."

"Odin, please!"

But Lena's father ignored her, standing up from his seat and striding towards the doors.

"That is final," he said loudly, whirling around and holding a hand up to his daughter. "I don't want to hear another word of Loki." He paused, taking in Lena's expression of disappointment. "Please understand, my child. I only want you safe."

Lena sighed and nodded. With that, Odin turned on his heel and strode from the room, the heavy door slamming shut behind him.

Lena let out a scream of frustration once he was gone, stomping her foot like a child. She had come to Asgard because she knew Loki had answers about her identity (and because she missed her friends and family too, of course), but she hadn't even had a chance to speak with him thanks to Odin's overprotectiveness. And Thor and her friends had of course been zero help.

It was beginning to dawn on Lena that she may have left Clint and her friends behind based on a foolish intuition.

"Lena."

Lena jumped and whirled around at the sound of Frigga's voice, her cheeks turning bright red when she realized that there had been a witness to her childish outburst.

"Frigga. I didn't know you were there, I was just–"

"Your father loves you," Frigga interrupted with a kind smile, walking up to Lena and touching her face lightly. Lena looked at her in confusion. "He's only afraid because he fears Loki will manipulate you."

"He might try, but I'm–"

"Strong," Frigga finished for her. "I know. Which is why I'm going to help you."

Lena's eyes went wide. "What?"

"Oh please, Lena," Frigga said with a wry smile. "Do you really think I've spent all this time not seeing my son?"

Lena stood there gaping as Frigga winked and turned on her heel, her long gold gown swaying behind her.

"Woah wait, what?" Lena snapped back to reality, running after Frigga and catching up with her as they left the throne rom. Her silver Asgardian armor shimmered as they walked side by side. "You've been going to see Loki?" She asked in a harsh whisper as they strode through the palace. "Against Odin's orders?"

"Of course," Frigga replied bluntly. "A good queen obeys her king no matter what, but a great queen knows when he is being a fool."

Lena laughed as Frigga winked at her once again. "Frigga you are _such_ a badass."

"Come, we must move quickly."

The two women rushed through the castle, smiling when necessary as they passed various Asgardians roaming about the palace. They were quite the contrast, Frigga in her jewels and gown and sophisticated gait, and Lena in her armor with her hair pulled back and staff at her side. Both women drastically different, but equally strong in their own ways.

"Stop," Frigga hissed under her breath, holding a hand up to Lena as they peered around the corner to the entrance of the dungeon where the universe's worst criminals were held. "You will only have about five minutes, do you understand me?"

Lena nodded furiously, her eyes wide. Frigga smiled down at her before peering back around the corner. She held her hand out and the next thing Lena knew, the guards were all falling to the ground, fast asleep.

"Cool," Lena whispered in awe.

"Go. Quickly," Frigga said hurriedly. "I will wait here."

Lena shot her a grateful smile before running around the corner and hopping over the guards' sleeping forms, pulling open the doors to the dungeon.

The first thing that Lena noticed was the temperature. The dungeon was cold, eerily so. Goosebumps popped up on her bare arms exposed by her armored vest and she shivered as she looked down the seemingly never-ending corridor. On either side of the corridor were hundreds of cells, holding the prisoners by impenetrable transparent shields that shimmered gold. Lena had heard about the dungeon, but never actually been in it.

It only took a couple seconds for the prisoners closest to the door to catch sight of her. A bunch of shouts went up like a roar as horrid, ugly creatures stepped as close to the edge of their cells as they could to get a sight of the gorgeous Asgardian princess. Lena simply rolled her eyes.

"Imbeciles," she muttered under her breath.

"Well, well, well," a familiar voice drawled. Lena snapped her eyes to her left and saw Loki standing in his cell with his hands behind his back, wearing his usual green outfit. If anything, he looked the exact same as he did the day they left earth. "Look who we have here. The famous Daughter of Asgard, in all her armored glory. I'm honored," he drawled sarcastically.

Lena turned on her heel and stalked over to his cell menacingly. "Save it," she snapped. "I'm not here to chit chat. I want answers."

"About what?" Loki asked with a smirk. "Relationship problems? Bad dreams? Or let me guess…" he paused dramatically, narrowing his eyes. "That burn on your wrist is still giving you trouble, isn't it?"

Lena froze, her hand instinctually drifting to lightly touch the burn mark on her wrist that was just as red as it was weeks ago. No Asgardian salve or magic had been able to rid her of the wound thus far.

"You know something," Lena said bluntly. "You know about my bracelet, my birth mother, who she is, and why she's still alive. Don't you?"

Loki grinned. "Do you really have to ask?"

"Spill it," Lena hissed. "Everything."

The grin on Loki's face fell and was replaced by pure malice.

"Let me make this clear in terms your simple Midgardian mind can understand," he hissed as he stalked closer to the boundaries of his cell. "I will give you nothing. You are insignificant. You are _trivial_. The universe wouldn't blink an eye if you were wiped from existence. And I live for the day when I will split your skull with my bare hands you dull, inconsequential twit."

Lena stared at him with her arms crossed, a bored expression on her face.

"You done?" She asked blankly. "Okay great. My turn now." She walked right up to the cell boundary without a trace of fear on her face. "Take a look at me. A good, long look. There you go. Do you see me? I'm standing out here. And you're standing in there. That means that I have the upper hand. I won, and you lost. So you're going to tell me right now what you know or I might have a little chat with Pops about turning your prison sentence into a death penalty. And I have a feeling that would throw a mighty big wrench in the escape plans that you're no doubt already hatching."

Though he did a fantastic job of hiding it, Loki was unnerved, and Lena knew it. She smirked in satisfaction.

"Now. Tell me what you know about my mother and I won't go chat with dear old Dad."

Loki snarled, his upper lip curling in distaste.

"Your mother is a wistful fool," he finally snapped. "Camille Sullivan wasn't prepared for a life beyond Midgard when she had her frivolous teenage affair with Odin. The Allfather _ruined_ her. She became fixated with the idea of becoming an Asgardian to try and please him."

"_Become_ an Asgardian?" Lena asked incredulously, her angry posture loosening in confusion. "But that's impossible."

"Of course it is," Loki replied in annoyance. "As I said, the woman is a fool. But a smart fool nonetheless."

"What do you mean?"

"Earth is full of Asgardians hiding in the shadows," he hissed. "Some more easily found than others. Your idiot mother found a group of other humans with similar fixations as she, and with them she found an Asgardian who had been granted passage to earth by Odin centuries ago. They found him, convinced him to offer his aid in their ridiculous plan, and then began using his blood for their little experiments."

"His blood?" Lena asked in shock, horrified. "But that's… that's insane! It didn't work, right?"

Loki scoffed. "No. The potency in Asgardian blood is too strong for their human bodies. Yours, however…"

"Oh my God," Lena whispered, her hands falling to her sides as she stared at her feet in disbelief. "I'm half-human. My blood wouldn't be toxic to them."

"Precisely," Loki said with a grin. "Your birth may have killed your mother, but your blood was also still running through her veins after her death."

"That's how she survived," Lena murmured in complete shock, her mind running in a thousand different directions. "That's why she needs me! She wants to use my blood to make her and all of her friends half-Asgardian like me!"

"Exactly," Loki sneered. "Your mother began reverting to her full human form about three years ago. She's beginning to age normally again, and–"

"Lena," Frigga suddenly hissed.

Lena and Loki both snapped their heads over to watch as Frigga poked her head around the corner. Loki's eyes widened and he finally let his emotions show.

"Mother…" he whispered, looking between her and Lena.

"I'm sorry, my son," she looked at him remorsefully at his look of betrayal. "Lena, we must hurry."

"Right, sorry," Lena said, turning on her heel and striding towards the doors. She froze right behind Frigga and whirled back around to face Loki in his prison. "We're not done. You're going to tell me everything else that you know about the bracelet, about–"

"How is Agent Barton?" Loki asked suddenly, his eyes vindictive. Lena froze, her eyes widening to the size of saucers. "How is his mind? Or more importantly, how is his heart? Since you broke it."

"Lena," Frigga hissed, grabbing her arm. "Come. _Now_."

Lena gulped and tore her eyes away from Loki, running with Frigga away from the dungeon and back up the stairs just as the guards began to wake up.

"I'm sorry," Lena rasped out as they reached the top of the steps, coming out to a balcony outside the palace. She was gasping for breath, doubling over. "Please, I just… I need a second."

"I shouldn't have let you go," Frigga said worriedly. "I didn't think Loki would…"

"I'm fine," Lena assured her, taking a deep breath and standing back up to her full height. Loki's words kept replaying over and over again in her mind.

_Or more importantly, how is his heart? Since you broke it._

"He's right," Lena said sadly. "He's right, I broke Clint's heart. I told him I loved him and then I left on this ridiculous mission to find out about my…" she froze, glancing at Frigga thoughtfully before changing her tune. "I didn't even give him a proper explanation."

"You say that this young man loves you, and love is unconditional," Frigga said firmly, taking Lena's hand and squeezing it tightly. "He will love you when you return as much as he loved you when you departed."

Lena gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you," she said softly, squeezing her hand back. "I uh… I think I'm going to go see Heimdall for a bit. If anyone asks–"

"I'll tell them," Frigga assured her. "Go."

"Thanks, mom," Lena said with a smile, leaning over and kissing Frigga's cheek. Frigga beamed, and Lena had no idea just how much it meant to the woman when she called her, "mom."

With that, Lena stepped over to the edge of the balcony and thrust her staff into the air before flying off to the end of the bridge to see Heimdall.

**xXxXx**

"I have a bone to pick with you," Lena said the second she touched down at the end of the bridge, standing to her full height and marching up to Heimdall, pointing her index finger at his face.. Heimdall simply raised an eyebrow at her, his strange orange eyes amused.

Several Asgardians were behind him working on the Bifrost and they all turned to gape and whisper at the warrior princess who was so bold against the Gatekeeper the same way she was with their king.

"It could have been picked sooner had you not been avoiding me these last weeks," Heimdall replied in his deep tone. Lena immediately dropped her hand and looked away regretfully.

"I wasn't avoiding you," Lena said lowly. "I was avoiding my own guilt."

"For not asking after your Midgardian allies," Heimdall said knowingly.

Lena scoffed, a small smile stretching her lips. "Yeah. Allies. Something like that." She looked up at her friend and sighed before turning and walking to the edge of the bridge and sitting down, her feet dangling high over the waters way down below. She patted the seat next to her and looked up at Heimdall.

The workers on the Bifrost all watched in complete shock as Heimdall didn't hesitate to walk over and sit down as well as if he weren't the most intimidating being across the entire universe. He laid his great sword down beside him, then took off his great gold helmet and did the same.

"You saw me speaking with Loki," Lena said simply. Heimdall made a sound of agreement. "So you heard what he said about my mother. And how she's alive and _completely_ nuts."

"Indeed I did," Heimdall said, sounding oddly disturbed. "I assure you my Princess, Camille Sullivan has found a way to remain shrouded from my sight over the last 22 years. I do not know how, but she has."

"Oh I know," Lena said with a shrug. "You wouldn't have kept it from Odin if you knew she was still alive, I'm not worried about that. What I'm worried about is what she's up to. Humans wanting to better themselves into a whole new species is no new thing, just ask two of my buddies back home. But Camille and her group of radicals wanting to turn into Asgardians specifically?"

Lena shook her head, staring down at the waters below, her mind churning in similar waves.

"It goes beyond what I can understand," she said tersely. "She has something bigger planned, I can feel it. And the fact that she wants my blood to get it done isn't exactly an easy pill to swallow."

"I would imagine not," Heimdall replied.

Lena laughed sadly, biting her lip and twiddling her thumbs. "I just can't believe that it took 22 years for me to find out that both of my parents are still alive, and one of them is the Allfather and the other is a total psycho that only wants me for my blood."

Heimdall was silent, allowing Lena's thoughts to consume her.

"And I know I should tell Odin," she continued. "He deserves to know that the woman he loved and had a child with – however wrong it may have been to do that considering it was an affair – is still alive. And still completely fixated on him. But won't that break his heart?" She looked over at Heimdall, but he was staring straight ahead. "He loved her, and apparently she loved him. It would totally suck to find out that the person you felt that strongly about had flipped a switch and turned crazy."

"The Allfather loved Camille Sullivan with all of his heart," Heimdall said deeply. "But I can assure you this, my Princess." He turned to look at her, his orange eyes boring deep into her own. "He loves his daughter infinitely more. He will not rest until he stops Camille Sullivan if she poses a threat to you."

Lena gulped, her fingers twitching at her side. Odin had an entire realm not to mention a bunch of other realms to look after. She couldn't add this burden to him.

"You won't tell him, will you?" She asked suddenly.

"I am sworn to tell the truth to my king," Heimdall replied. Lena sighed, looking up at the vibrant colors of the Asgardian sky. "However…"

Lena snapped her head back to Heimdall, grinning slightly.

"If my King does not ask, I am sworn to no truth."

"Oh Heimdall you sly dog," Lena said, leaning over and kissing his cheek. He didn't react, but Lena caught sight of the faintest of smiles.

The pair was quiet for a few minutes, Lena chewing on her lip as her mind seemed to run a hundred miles a minute. She wanted to ask about her friends – more specifically Clint, but she had done such a great job avoiding that responsibility the last few weeks. If she asked if he was okay and got a bad answer, she might fall apart.

"He is fine."

Lena looked over at Heimdall with wide eyes, her mouth parted slightly.

"What?" She blurted.

"Your friend, the archer." Heimdall looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. "He is safe. And healthy."

"How did you know I was thinking about him?"

"Because you are in love," Heimdall said wisely. "I will not tell you of his whereabouts if you do not wish to ask, but I will tell you that he is safe."

"Thank you," Lena said gratefully, a weight lifting off of her shoulders. Heimdall had known exactly what she needed to hear, and he hadn't even made her ask the question she dreaded. "What about um… what about the others? Steve, Tony, Bruce, and Nat? And Maria? Hell what's Fury up to these days?"

Heimdall stared straight ahead for a moment, his face blank and unreadable as his eyes traversed through the universe in an effort as easy as breathing.

"Your friend Tony Stark," he said suddenly, making Lena tense up at his tone. "I do believe he may be in some danger."

"What?" Lena all but shrieked, dread and panic seeping into her veins. "What? He's… _what_?"

"He does not fare well at all," Heimdall continued. Lena jumped to her feet in a panic. "Tony Stark is currently in his suit of iron flying just outside of Rose Hill, Tennessee." Heimdall grabbed his sword and his helmet and gracefully stood to his feet as well.

"Rose Hill, Tennessee?" Lena shouted incredulously, spinning around wildly. "Why the hell is he going there? What kind of danger?"

"He is currently unconscious."

"What? Why?"

"He was involved in a terrorist attack."

"Terrorist attack?!" Lena all but screamed. "Oh my God, oh my _God_… I have to – I have to do something!" She whirled back around towards Heimdall, hair falling out of her ponytail in her flailing. "Is he hurt?"

"Quite," Heimdall said simply. "I fear that he may suffer serious injuries when his suit crashes in the next two minutes upon losing power."

"No!" Lena shouted, whipping out her staff on instinct. "I have to… no! I can't sit here and let him get hurt!"

"My Princess–"

But Heimdall's words were futile. Lena took off into the sky again, flying like a maniac back to the palace. She literally flew inside the building and weaved in between columns and guards, as well as Thor at one point, who shouted after her in vain. She finally came to a screeching stop just outside of Odin's throne room where she burst through the double doors before the guards outside could open them for her.

"Odin!" Lena shouted, her father looking up at her in surprise before ushering away some of his advisors from the room. "I need you to send me to Midgard," she said in a deadly serious tone, coming to a stop at the base of the steps leading to his throne.

"Pardon?" He asked, only slightly unnerved at the panic written all over his daughter's face.

"Midgard, I need you to send me there," Lena repeated herself frantically. "I know the Bifrost isn't up and running yet, but I need you to use your dark magic the way that you've been using it to send us to the other realms."

"Whatever for?" Odin asked.

"My friend," Lena rasped out. "He's hurt, and in serious danger. I have to get to him as soon as possible."

Odin sighed dramatically. "The Bifrost will be secure within a few weeks," he said simply. "Then you may return to Midgard for your companions."

"I can't wait a few weeks!" Lena shouted, Odin raising an eyebrow at her indignant tone. "He needs me now! You had plenty of magic to send us to Anaheim not even two days ago!"

"That was important–"

"_This_ is important!"

Odin remained completely still at Lena's dramatic outburst, but his unnerving stare down at her heavily breathing form would have been enough to bring any man to his knees in spluttering apologies.

But not Lena Sullivan.

Lena stood there boldly and met his eyes without a trace of fear. She was the only person who had ever and would ever speak to the Allfather that way and live to tell the tale.

"Tony Stark is a hero," Lena said in a low voice, her body trembling with fury. "And not just to Midgard, but to all of the realms. _He_ was the one who took that missile through the portal, he was the one who finally ended the great battle, and _he_ was the one who brought me back to life when I died!"

Odin's good eye widened in shock. He didn't know that Lena had died during the Battle of New York. He remained silent, but Lena's words were hitting him hard.

"I owe that man my life, but beyond that I owe him much more simply because he is my _friend_," Lena hissed. "And I know for a fact that he would go above and beyond any enemy no matter how dangerous in order to protect me and he deserves the same dedication. Now SEND ME TO MIDGARD!"

Lena's terrifyingly commanding voice echoed throughout the giant, otherwise empty room, seeming to shake the gold walls. Odin and Lena were silent, only the sound of her heavy, angry breaths. Odin looked down at his daughter and saw for the first time just how loyal she truly was. He'd always known she was fiercely protective of the ones that she loved, but he was just now realizing that his daughter was equal parts devoted and deadly. And even if he refused to send her to Midgard she would find some other way to go after her friend.

"I will not be able to secure your safe passage back to Asgard until the Bifrost is finished," Odin said simply, basically saying that he was conceding to her demands without actually voicing those words.

Lena stared up at him through narrowed eyes, looking every bit the warrior that she was. She had never looked like such an _Asgardian_ before.

Returning to earth to save Tony meant sacrificing more of Loki's answers to the questions about her mother and Lena's own identity. It meant being separated from Asgard once again with no idea when she would return. It meant leaving Thor, Frigga, Sif and the others without saying goodbye.

But Lena knew what she had to do. It was _Tony_.

"Send me." Lena's voice was deadly. "Now."

**xXxXx**

Travelling by Odin's magic wasn't like travelling by the Bifrost at all. Instead of the sensation of flying, Lena felt the sensation of falling. That being said, when she crash landed to the earth in the middle of the woods outside of Rose Hill, Tennessee, it wasn't a surprise when she slipped on the snow and fell on her ass.

"Ow," Lena groaned, using her staff to push herself back up to her feet without falling again.

It was cold. It was snowing for crying out loud, why was it snowing?

_Oh. Because it's winter. Duh_, Lena thought to herself. She blanched for the briefest of seconds upon realizing that it should be Christmas in just a few days. They obviously don't celebrate that holiday on Asgard, so of course she would be behind.

Snapping back to the dilemma at hand, Lena jumped into action, ignoring the cold that was biting at her bare arm. Snowflakes landed in her hair and on her eyelashes as she whipped out her staff to its longest length, spinning around under the snowy night sky and looking for that red and gold metal suit that she knew so well.

"Tony!" Lena shouted, but got no response. "Tony!"

Seconds later, just as Lena was feeling dread start to boil up in the pit of her stomach, she heard a very loud, very familiar sound behind her. She turned on her heel just in time to see the Iron Man suit crashing down to the ground.

Right at her.

Lena gasped, falling to the ground on her belly at the very last second to avoid being decapitated by Tony's suit as it flew at dangerously high speeds straight down to the ground. Lena jumped to her feet instantly, hearing Tony's familiar yell screaming off in the distance as he crashed through trees and rolled several times before landing in a heap amongst the snow.

"Tony!" Lena screamed again, extending her staff and flying the 50 yards it took to reach him. She landed in a crouch, skidding through the snow that was beginning to soak through her pants and into her boots.

He was lying on his stomach unmoving, and Lena grunted as she leaned over and rolled him and the suit onto his back.

"Tony, hey!" She shouted, panicking when she got no response. The lights in the mask were flickering, and a few seconds later they went out completely. "No, no, no," Lena muttered frantically.

"Tony!" Lena shouted, hitting her fist against the mask as if she were knocking on someone's front door. "Tony freaking Stark!"

Suddenly the mask slid up, the suit flickering back to life. Tony's face looked _awful_. He was bloody and bruised terribly. His eyes snapped open and he took several deep breaths that were visible in the cold air.

"Oh thank God," Lena exhaled in relief, relaxing her shoulders and leaning back on her heels.

Stark continued to breathe heavily, his eyes blinking rapidly. He finally seemed to realize he wasn't alone and he looked over at Lena incredulously.

"Maggie Pie?" He asked in a hoarse voice, complete and total shock covering his bloody features. "What the _hell_ are you wearing?"

**xXxXx**

**A/N: Just wanna let you guys know that we WILL see Clint next chapter, so don't worry about missing him too much :) **


	29. Chapter 29

"You're kidding me, right?" Lena deadpanned as Tony stared up at her with his bloody face, seeming completely serious. "I just traversed the entire universe after yelling at the freaking Allfather and risking my life to come out here and save your ass–"

"Technically you didn't save me, you just watched as I crashed–"

"And you're going to sit there and judge my outfit?" Lena shouted incredulously, raising her hands up in the air. "You are _incorrigible_, Tony Stark!"

"Incorrigible. I like that word, never been called that before," Tony muttered quickly in typical Tony fashion. "Jarvis, where are we?" He asked sharply.

"_We are 5 miles outside of Rose Hill, Tennessee,_" JARVIS' voice replied audibly from the inside of Tony's suit.

"I could've told you that," Lena muttered, standing up to her feet and rubbing her hands over her bare arms to create some friction. She looked around, noting that they were in the middle of nowhere.

"Why?!" Tony shouted incredulously. "Jarvis! Not my idea! What are we doing here?" He started to stand to his feet, but the suit was too low on power to move and Lena laughed at his attempt. "This is thousands of miles away, I've gotta get Pepper–"

"What the hell happened to Pepper?" Lena snapped worriedly.

"I've got to–"

"_I prepared a flight plan_," JARVIS said simply, sounding disturbingly more human than computer. "_This was the location."_

"Who asked you?" Tony snapped. "Open the suit."

Lena watched in amusement, still keeping watch as Tony's suit opened up in the front with a whir of gears and gizmos and he sat up quickly, his blue arc reactor bright under the snowy moonlight.

"Woo, that's brisk," Tony muttered as he rubbed his hands together, sitting up but remaining in the suit.

"Yeah, just a bit," Lena looked over at him with a glare as she shivered uncontrollably, her teeth chattering.

_"__I think I may be malfunctioning, sir_," JARVIS said suddenly, his electronic voice cracking. "_I actually think I need to sleep now, sir."_

"Did he just say _sleep_?" Lena asked incredulously, walking over to stand next to Tony and the suit.

"JARVIS," Tony said, ignoring Lena completely as an expression of being totally lost crossed his face. "JARVIS? Don't leave me, buddy."

Lena looked down at him sadly. She didn't have to have known Tony for very long to know that he treated JARVIS as if it were his own child. JARVIS had always been there for Tony even when no one else was. And now he was gone.

And it was Lena's turn to step up.

"Hey," she said, sticking her foot out and nudging Tony's leg. He looked up at her as if he'd briefly forgotten she were there.

Lena smiled down at him, extending her arm.

"Need a hand?"

Tony looked up at her with a blank expression for a few seconds before smiling, taking her hand and letting her haul him out of the suit and up to his feet.

Tony looked her up and down with a furrowed, bloody brow as they stood in front of one another, Lena waiting on him to say something.

"Well go ahead," she snapped. "Make a hilarious remark. Give me crap about my warrior princess outfit. Tell me my hair looks ridiculous."

"Your hair _does_ look ridiculous."

"I've gone three weeks without a single drop of Tony Stark's uniquely dickish charm, so go ahead and lay it all on me," Lena said dramatically with a look of complete acceptance on her face. "I'm ready."

Tony stared at her blankly.

"You look like a Xena cosplay," he finally deadpanned.

"Alright."

"Is that ringworm on your wrist?"

"Keep 'em coming."

"Saying 'traversed through the universe' makes you sound like an 80 year old science fiction writer."

"I'll take that."

"I missed you."

Lena blanched, her amused grin dropping from her face. She looked up at Tony's face to see that he was completely serious, smiling meekly at her. The corners of her mouth turned upwards as well.

"I missed you too, Stark," she said in a small voice, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace.

"Ouch! What the hell are you doing, Xena?" Tony shouted, making her jump away and look at him in disbelief. "I was just attacked by a terrorist and crashed in the middle of the woods! You can't just attack me like that!"

"It was a hug!"

"It was borderline assault."

"Oh my _gosh,_ you are so infuriating."

**xXxXx**

"Hey, quick question," Tony said quite suddenly as he and Lena made their way through the snow towards an old abandoned gas station up ahead. Lena rolled her eyes.

"Is there such a thing as a 'quick question' with you, Tony?"

"Can't you make your little force field have some indoor heating?" He looked up at the shimmering blue dome that Lena had created with her staff to shield them from the snow. "Because your little trick kind of sucks."

"I can always let the snow fall on you." Lena looked at him and pursed her lips, obviously not bluffing.

Tony seemed thoughtful for a moment.

"Nah, I'm good."

"That's what I thought," Lena said with a smirk.

"So how's Asgard been?" He asked quickly, grunting as he dragged his heavy suit behind him. "Awesome? Amazing? I would hope so considering you, y'know, took off without a word and scared all of us half to death."

Lena tensed, stutter stepping and causing the force field above them to flicker at her lack of concentration. She quickly swallowed back her surprise at his bluntness and lifted her chin in feigned confidence.

"Asgard was good," she said, her voice cracking. "Been really busy. Princessing and whatnot. It's not all flowers and tiaras, contrary to popular belief."

"Princessing, right," Tony muttered, looking straight ahead. "Well for the record, your knight in shining armor back down here was a wreck."

Lena froze, her force field dropping completely as she came to a screeching halt. Tony made a whiny complaint as the snow began to fall on him and he turned to look at her. He was about to snap a sassy remark, but he stopped when he saw the devastated look on her face.

"Is he okay?" Lena rasped out, her voice betraying the guilt that she felt in her very bones. "I mean… Does he… does he hate me?"

"Of course not," Tony waved her off as if she was being ridiculous. "He hates himself right now. You can imagine the insecurities that he was probably feeling when his girlfriend told him she loved him – very dramatic proclamation of love by the way, I give it ten points – and then literally ran away from him to the other side of the universe."

"I – what?" Lena spluttered, a look of shock on her face. She was numb now, completely in disregard of the cold. "Clint thinks I left because of… because of _him_?"

"Well why wouldn't he?"

"Because that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Lena shouted loudly. "I love him, I hated leaving him!"

"Then why the hell did you do it?"

"Because of Loki!" She screamed, a tense silence falling between the two friends. "Loki, he… he knows things. He has answers about who I am, and people that have been coming after me recently."

"People have been coming after you?" Tony asked worriedly, his words all running together. "Who's been coming after you?"

"That's not important right now," Lena waved him off. "What I'm saying is that I would never in a million years leave earth because of Clint, or any of you for that matter. I made that decision for _me_."

Tony stared at her thoughtfully for a moment, and it always unnerved Lena that she had the hardest times reading him because he covered his true emotions with all of his jokes and narcissism.

"Well don't tell _me_ that, Maggie Pie," he finally said, turning back on his heel and continuing towards the gas station. "Give your boyfie a call. I already know I'm amazing, he's the one that needs a reminder."

"Boyfie," Lena echoed his ridiculous word usage, rolling her eyes as she jogged to catch up with him.

They reached the abandoned gas station a couple minutes later, Lena calling Tony a montage of crude names when he told her about how he had literally threatened the world's leading terrorist on live television.

"What kind of stupid idiot gives out their home address to a _terrorist_?" Lena shouted, throwing her hands up in the air as Tony propped his suit up beside the building. "What part of your genius brain thought that that was a good idea?"

"The angry part," he replied simply, and Lena couldn't exactly argue with that.

Wordlessly, Tony walked over to a wooden Native American carving of a man outside of the old gas station, taking the decorative wool shawl off of the figure. He started to put it over his own shoulders, but then he glanced over at Lena. She was standing there bouncing on her toes and rubbing her hands together, peering around the opposite side of the building, her back to him.

With a sigh, Tony took the shawl and walked over to Lena. She jumped and looked over her shoulder to see him covering her shoulders with the fabric.

"Tony, no," she argued. "You take it, I'm fine. I–"

"I gotta make a call, I'll be right back," Tony interrupted as if she hadn't been speaking at all. "You good?" Lena gave him a grateful smile and nodded, accepting the generous offer without another word. Which is what Tony wanted.

For Tony Stark to have one of the biggest egos on the planet, he was terrible at accepting gratitude when he performed genuine acts of compassion. And that was one of the many things that made him so great.

Lena sat on an old rickety chair outside the gas station as Tony made a call. She leaned her weight on her staff, trying to will away the cold that was seeping into her bones. Granted, she had felt colder before. Much, much colder, back on Jotunheim.

As Tony left a message for Pepper, Lena stared at the ground in front of her and thought about Clint. She felt so _stupid_. Lena knew Clint better than she knew herself, yet she hadn't stopped for a second and thought about the guilt that he was probably feeling.

She imagined herself in his shoes: what if he had darted away without telling her where he was going after proclaiming his love? Lena would feel awful – she would feel inadequate. So why hadn't she thought about him feeling the same way? In a word, Lena had simply been ignorant, and she was mature enough to acknowledge that misgiving.

"Maggie Pie."

Lena snapped her head up to look at Tony, who was standing right in front of her and holding out two quarters.

"Go ahead," he shook his hand at her. "Call him. That's an order."

Lena looked up at him with a small smile, accepting the quarters and standing to her feet. "Yes sir," she said with a mock salute as she walked over to the payphone and he took her seat.

After taking several deep breaths to calm her nerves, Lena put the quarters in and dialed Clint's familiar cell phone number. Only three people had the number to his private phone: Lena, Natasha, and Fury.

There had been one more, but the fourth had bravely laid down his life in honor of the Avengers back on the Helicarrier.

Any more depressing thoughts about Phil Coulson were pushed to the back of Lena's mind as the phone began to ring, her hands shaking as she gripped the receiver tight.

And then she heard his voice.

Well, more specifically, she heard a recording of his voice.

_"__This is Barton. I can't get to the phone, you know what to do."_

Lena flinched at the loud beep that signaled her to start the voicemail. Her voice caught in her throat, her body shaking – but not from the cold.

"Clint," she finally rasped out, a small smile forming on her face just at the thought of him hearing her voice. "It's me. It's Lena. I just wanted to call and say…"

Shivering under the cold and muttering something about needing a power source, Tony jumped up from the chair as Lena finally stepped out of the phone booth about three minutes later, furiously wiping at her face. He could see the redness in her eyes that made it obvious she had been crying.

"Hey," he called out casually as if he didn't notice, grabbing her attention. "How's Bird Boy?"

Lena sniffled, giving him a weak smile. "He didn't answer," she said with a shrug, kicking her booted toe at the ground. "It's okay, I figured he wouldn't."

"You leave him a message?"

"Yeah."

"You feel better?"

Lena looked up at him, pursing her lips together in thought.

"Yeah," she said honestly. "I think I do."

"Good. Let's get going then, before someone shows up and thinks I kidnapped you from a renaissance festival."

"Okay, the armor is _not_ that bad."

**xXxXx**

_Beep. Beep._

Clint Barton groaned, burying his face further into his pillow.

_Beep. Beep._

"Shutup," he muttered out loud, his voice muffled.

_Beep. Beep._

"Jesus, can I not sleep for five damn minutes?" He shouted, rolling over onto his back and throwing the covers off of himself, tiredly crawling out of bed and stumbling across his tiny bedroom towards his dresser, where his phone was making those stupid beeping noises.

"Fucking cell phones," he cursed under his breath, turning it on to see that he had one new voicemail.

_Funny_, he thought to himself. _I didn't even hear it ring_.

But of course he didn't hear it ring, he was hungover as shit. As he had been the past few weeks. And who the hell had even called him? Natasha knew that he was taking time off. Hell, so was she and the rest of the team as far as he knew (granted, he'd been laying low since New York). And Fury certainly hadn't called him, and the only other person who had his number was Lena.

_Well she sure as shit didn't call me_, he thought bitterly. But then that bitterness instantly turned to sadness, his mind drifting to the thought of the girl he loved and who loved him back – just not enough to stay with him. She loved him, he believed that much. But she obviously loved her other family and other more. He simply hadn't been enough to make her stay

And quite frankly, that hurt like hell.

Which explained the hangover. And the bags under his eyes, the stubble on his face, and the mess that was his apartment. Clint Barton was a wreck, and his life was currently reflecting that.

With a sigh, Clint held his phone up to his ear to listen to the voicemail. It was probably Fury, calling him to tell him it was time to get off of his ass, that there was a mission to go on. Or Natasha, yelling about how lazy he was being and it was time to move on. He didn't really want to listen to either of those, but he was already up at that point so why the hell not?

"This better be good," Clint grumbled as the voicemail started.

For the first few seconds, it was silent. Just the sound of someone's breathing on the other end of the line. He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

And he was just about to say 'screw it' and hang up when he heard her.

_"__Clint… It's me. It's Lena."_

So completely caught off guard by the sound of her voice, Clint had to grab the side of his dresser to keep from falling over. His breath caught in his throat and he almost choked, his chest feeling as though it had been hit by a freaking freight train. He focused his entire attention on the voicemail, feeling instantly sobered.

_"__I just wanted to call and say… well shit, I don't know what I should say. I didn't really think this through. Which is typical of me really, this is why I don't make phone calls often. Wait, dammit, I'm rambling and going about this all the wrong way."_

Clint smiled a small smile as he heard her ramble on like she always did when she was nervous. Her voice was painful and wonderful to hear all at the same time.

_"__Okay, so there's a few things I need to tell you. One, I'm back on earth. Obviously, since I'm calling you. I'm in… wait, no. I can't tell you where I'm at, it might not be safe."_

Clint blanched, his hands balling into fists.

_"__Shit, I shouldn't have phrased it like that. You're probably freaking out right now so let me clarify: I am safe. Kind of cold, freezing actually, but safe. I can tell you though that I am one hundred percent back on earth as of like… ten minutes ago. It's kind of a long story."_

Clint relaxed just slightly, smiling at the fact that Lena had known just how he would react at the words, 'it might not be safe.' She knew him better than anyone.

_"__But yeah, number one thing is that I'm on earth and I'm safe. Number two thing is… I'm sorry. Fuck, Clint, I am so sorry. What I did was wrong and not thought out and irrational. It wasn't fair to you, I was being selfish and… gosh, I suck at this, I don't know how to apologize over a damn voice mail."_

Clint laughed, imagining Lena rolling her eyes at herself.

_"__That day in Central Park, I… I thought that Loki had answers about my mother, and I was right, he did. But I shouldn't have left you like that. I could have found my own answers without his help, and I could've found them with you. I told you that we would face our battles together and then I just took off on my own. It wasn't fair to you and for that I am so, so sorry."_

The shakiness in Lena's voice cut through Clint like daggers, feeling his own pain at her pain. But at the same time, it made his heart swell that she was apologizing. She was accepting that she had made a mistake and hurt him instead of making up excuses for herself.

_"__So number one, I'm safe. Number two, I'm sorry. And number three…"_

Clint held his breath as she paused for what felt like forever. His hand gripped his phone so tightly he feared it might break.

_"__Number three is that I love you." _Lena's voice was shaking and Clint could tell she had started to cry. _"I love you so much, and I can only hope that you don't hate me for leaving you like I did. I thought about you every second I was gone, I missed you so, so much. Asgard is great and I used to consider it a home, but while I was there I realized something. You're my home, Clint Barton. I don't care if I'm on earth or Asgard or anywhere in between, I'm not home unless I'm with you."_

Clint was frozen. His bare feet felt like lead, he couldn't move from where he stood unmoving in complete heartwarming shock.

_"__So don't try and track me down just yet, okay? I know you're probably already planning on calling Nat or Maria to trace this call and come get me yourself, but just wait. Wait on me one more time, Clint Barton. Because the second I take care of some business that I will explain in full, I'm coming to you. I'm coming home."_

Clint's eyes glazed over and his teeth hurt from clenching his jaw so tightly. Lena's next words were a whisper.

_"__I'll see you soon. I love you. Yesterday, today, and all the days after that. I love you, Clint. Don't forget it."_

Clint's dropped his phone carelessly as the voice mail ended and he pressed his back up against his dresser, sliding to the floor and staring straight ahead mindlessly.

Lena was back. She was coming back to him. She was coming _home_.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

**A/N: Just real quick, I want to apologize for the last chapter, I was in a MAJOR rush and didn't have time to include any author's notes. The chapter was originally longer, but I split it in half to give you guys an earlier update :) THIS update is quite long though, and I hope you guys enjoy it! I'm almost at 200 reviews, so review, review, review!**

**xXxXx**

"Tony you can't just break into people's houses."

"This isn't a house, it's a woodshop."

"Same thing!"

"Not the same thing at all actually, which is why they're called two different names."

Lena flinched as Tony broke the chain to someone's woodshop a mile away from the gas station. She looked behind her uneasily, noting that the lights in the adjoining house were still off. It looked like nobody was home, but she couldn't be sure.

"Well come on then, Maggie Pie," Tony said impatiently as he stepped inside the woodshop and looked back at her. "At this rate you might beat Cap in the 'how long can I spend frozen' contest."

"Oh shutup," Lena muttered as she followed him inside, instantly letting out a breath of relief as she stepped out of the snow and wind.

She watched as Tony dragged his suit over to a ratty old couch, propping it up as if it were in a casual sitting position. It was more than amusing to watch Tony treat his suit as if it were a living, breathing person instead of a metal shell that only worked when he was wearing it.

"There. You happy now?" Tony asked the suit as if it would reply. Lena just chuckled, walking around and observing the woodshop that was more like an invention room of some kind. She set her staff down on a random table and was just removing her top layer of armor when suddenly someone yelled "Freeze!" behind her.

Lena whirled around and was just about to call her staff when she realized that it was just a kid at the door. He couldn't have been more than 12. He was a cute little shortie, with blonde curly hair and an oversized jacket covering his small frame. But despite the fact that he was cute, the kid was doing his best to look intimidating as he pointed a potato gun right at Tony, who held his hands up.

"You got me," Tony said, unconcerned. He glanced over at Lena. "What are you doing, Maggie Pie? The man has a gun, hands up."

"Oh, right," Lena said quickly, holding her hands up as well. "We surrender."

"Nice potato gun," Tony remarked. "Barrel's a little long. Between that and the wide gauge, it's going to diminish your FPS," he said matter-of-factly. Lena rolled her eyes. He always had to be the smartest person in the room, even when–

Lena jumped and ducked as the kid shot off the potato gun at a beam right behind her head.

"Hey!" Lena shouted, getting his attention. "Watch it! He's the one being a smart alleck, not me." She pointed at Tony accusingly.

"Way to throw me under the bus, Mags," Tony snapped. "And now you're out of ammo, by the way," he said to the kid.

"What's that thing on your chest?" The kid asked curiously, still pointing his now useless potato gun.

"It's an electromagnet," Tony replied without hesitation. "You should know, you've got a box of them right here." He picked up a little box of metal objects and shook it.

"What does it power?" The kid asked. Tony looked over his shoulder at Lena questioningly and she shrugged as if to say, 'go ahead.' Tony stood up and moved over so that the kid could see his suit. "Oh my God!" He shouted excitedly, dropping his potato gun on the table and walking over to look at the suit. "Is this Iron Man?"

"Technically, I am," Tony said egotistically.

"Technically, you're dead," the kid said, shoving a newspaper in Tony's chest as if they were old buddies already.

"I'm sorry, what?" Lena asked incredulously, walking over and bumping shoulders with Tony as they read the front page of the newspaper together. There was a screaming headline on the front page about The Mandarin killing the famous Tony Stark. "Way to go, Stark. I'm gone for three weeks and you get yourself killed."

"Hey, you're Sparkstrike, aren't you?" The kid suddenly asked, looking at Lena with wide eyes. She grinned widely, excited that someone knew who she was for once. All the other heroes seemed to have their own fanbases except her for crying out loud.

"Yeah, that's me. I'm sure you–"

"What are you wearing?" The kid cut her off with a disgusted look towards her armor. Lena's smile dropped instantly as Tony laughed.

"See that, Xena? Even the kid knows you look ridiculous."

"You know it would bode well for you if you made a good first impression with me," Lena said to the kid with narrowed eyes, actually seeming to intimidate him a bit.

"Uh, what happened to him?" The kid turned back to Tony, referring to the Iron Man suit.

"Life," Tony answered simply. "I built him, I take care of him, I'll fix him."

"Like a mechanic?" The kid asked.

"Yeah."

"If I was building Iron Man and War Machine–"

"It's Iron Patriot now," Tony interrupted him matter-of-factly.

"Oh that's way cooler!" The kid shouted.

"No it's not," Tony said, offended.

"It's totally cooler," Lena agreed with kid. Tony shot her a glare and she shrugged.

"Anyway," the kid continued, "I would have added in the uh, the retro–"

"Retroreflective panels?" Tony asked knowingly.

"Yeah, to make him stealth mode. Cool, right?"

"That's actually a good idea, maybe I'll build one," Tony said with a shrug, surprising Lena. Did Tony Stark just say a kid's idea for his suit was smarter than his own? She looked up to make sure the sky wasn't falling.

"What are you doing?" Tony suddenly shouted as the kid pulled off one of the suit's fingers. Lena laughed, covering her mouth to stifle the sound. "He's in pain, he's been injured," Tony said dramatically. "Leave him alone."

"Sorry," the kid said with a sincerely apologetic expression. Lena looked over at Tony to see if he was going to yell at the kid, wondering if she should step in or not. But then, much to her surprise, he didn't do that at all.

"Don't worry about it, I'll fix it," Tony said quickly, waving his hand as if to tell the kid that everything was fine and not to feel bad at all.

Tony Stark, Lena realized with a start, was really great with kids.

"Hey kid," Lena called out. "Who's home? Are you here by yourself?"

"Well, my mom already left for the diner and Dad went to 7-11 to get scratchers," he answered, not making eye contact. "I guess he won because that was six years ago."

Lena's heart dropped to her stomach. The kid was playing it all casual, but Lena couldn't imagine how much that must have sucked. She'd had a great childhood leading up to Zeke's death when everything changed, so she could only sympathize rather than understand what he must be feeling.

"Oh," Lena said in a low voice. "I'm sorry, I didn't–"

"Which happens, dads leave," Tony interrupted her in his faced past voice, ignoring Lena as she glared at him incredulously.

"Tony!"

"Here's what I need," Tony said matter-of-factly, crossing his arms and staring the kid down. "A laptop, a digital watch, a cell phone. The pneumatic actuator from your bazooka over there. A map of the town, a big spring, and a tuna fish sandwich."

Lena stared at him with her mouth dropped in complete shock. He looked over and shrugged.

"What?" He asked innocently. "You want a sandwich too?"

"What's in it for me?" The kid asked, completely unfazed by Tony's bluntness and rudeness. If anything, he seemed appreciative that Tony wasn't treating him like a child.

Maybe Tony _should_ be handling this situation.

"Salvation," Tony said simply. "What's his name?"

"Who?"

"The kid that bullies you at school, what's his name?"

The boy looked down at his lap shamefully and Lena felt her heart cracking. Poor kid.

"How'd you know that?" He asked in a small voice.

"I got just the thing," Tony said without answering the boy's question, moving over and taking a small object out of the suit and handing it over to the boy.

Lena jumped up and sat on the side of a table, watching the two interact as if she were observing wild animals. She was way out of her depth in this area, but Tony seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

"What is that?" The kid asked with wide eyes.

"This is a piñata for a cricket. I'm kidding, it's a very powerful weapon." Lena scoffed at Tony's idea of hilarity. "Point it away from your face, press the button on the top. It discourages bullying. Non-lethal."

"Tony," Lena said in a low, serious voice. "Are you seriously encouraging violence using Stark Tech to a kid?"

"Maggie Pie, you're literally a warrior princess," Tony said indignantly, as if he were highly offended. "You practically live and breathe violence."

"Yeah, aren't you an alien?" The kid asked, perking up.

Lena was just about to answer him when Tony said, "She's only half-alien, don't give her more credit than she deserves. Now hey, eyes back on me."

Tony held up the weapon just out of the boy's reach.

"Deal?" He asked. The boy nodded. "What do you say? Deal?"

"Deal," the boy said firmly, finally getting his hand on the weapon.

Lena watched their interactions with a small smile. She had never seen Tony look so like… himself. She felt as though she were seeing the real Tony Stark for the first time, not the show he put on for everybody else.

"You know what keeps going through my head?" Tony asked suddenly. The boy looked up at him curiously. "Where's my sandwich?"

"Okay, that's enough of that," Lena muttered, hopping off of the table and walking over to the kid. "Now how about you and _me_ make a deal," she said, crossing her arms and looking down at him. His eyes widened. "I help you make this idiot a sandwich, and in return you loan me some of your mom's clothes."

"Sure," the kid replied. "You look ridiculous anyways."

Lena just rolled her eyes and headed out of the workshop with the kid, muttering obscenities under her breath as Tony laughed.

**xXxXx**

"I just don't understand why you freaked out over the Iron Man suit and this idiot before me," Lena said exasperatedly as the trio walked down the boring Main Street of Rose Hill, Tennessee. She pulled her bright red beanie further down over her ears before stuffing her hands in the pockets of the jacket she had borrowed. "The suit doesn't even _work_ right now. I'm an alien with a magical staff, that's pretty cool, right?"

"You're half-alien," the kid said matter-of-factly, echoing Tony's words from earlier. "That makes you significantly less cooler."

"You know," Lena said as she looked down at him. "The whole, 'look at me I'm cute and act really mature for my age' thing was endearing at first, but now it just makes me want to punch you."

"Calm down now Maggie Pie, we don't encourage violence," Tony said sarcastically, making Lena roll her eyes. "Oh and by the way kid, when you said your sister had a watch, I was kinda hoping for something a little more than that."

Tony jerked up the sleeve of the flannel he was wearing, showing off the Dora the Explorer watch that the kid had given him. "She's six!" The kid shouted indignantly.

"Yeah Tony, be grateful," Lena weighed in. "I mean seriously, it's a limited edition."

The kid laughed, catching Lena's eye and grinning.

"Hey, when can we talk about New York?" He asked suddenly, looking between the two heroes excitedly, but mostly up at Tony.

"Maybe never, relax about it."

Lena's eyebrows raised at Tony's snappy tone.

"Geez Tony, chill out," she said to him. "He just asked a question."

"What about the Avengers?" The kid continued as they headed further down the street towards what looked like a memorial. "Can you talk about them?"

"I don't know. Later," Tony snapped yet again. Lena watched him curiously. He was acting really, really weird.

"Tony what the hell is your problem?" Lena asked. "He's not doing anything wrong."

"I think he has PTSD or something," the kid said offhandedly, staring up at Tony.

"Would you two just give me some space?" Tony asked quickly, walking ahead of them up to the memorial. Lena and the kid looked at each other and shrugged before trailing after him. "What's the official story here?" He asked, gesturing to the memorial.

In the corner beside the building next to them, several candles and posters littered the ground. Five shadows were painted on the red brick.

"I guess this guy named Chad Davis used to live around here," the kid answered solemnly. "He won a bunch of medals in the army. One day, folks said he went crazy and made, you know, a bomb. Then he blew himself up right here."

Lena's expression and posture grew somber as she knelt down next to one of the picture frames on the ground and looked at the photo of a handsome young man.

"Six people died, right?" Tony asked.

"Yeah."

"Including Chad Davis?'

"Yeah."

"Then why are there only five shadows?" Lena asked, looking over at the boys. "On the wall, there's only five shadows painted. If six people died, then where's the sixth?

"People said these shadows are like the marks of souls gone to Heaven," the kid explained. "Except the bomb guy, he went to hell and didn't get a shadow. That's why there's only five."

Lena was silent, standing up to her feet and looking around.

"Do you buy that?" Tony asked the boy.

He shrugged. "That's what everyone says."

They were all quiet for the next few seconds, Lena's brain whirring. She couldn't imagine someone who sounded like such a stand up citizen going nuts one day and blowing up a bomb in the middle of his hometown. What made him do it?

"You know what this crater reminds me of?" The kid suddenly asked. "That giant wormhole, in New York."

Lena chuckled, looking over at the boys. This kid was not going to drop New York anytime soon.

"Does it remind you two?" He continued, looking between Lena and Tony.

Lena was just about to open her mouth when Tony snapped, "That's manipulative, I don't want to talk about it."

"Are they coming back?" The kid asked, unfazed. "The aliens?

"No," Lena said firmly at the same time Tony said, "Maybe, can you stop?"

Lena looked over at Tony and was surprised to see that he looked completely freaked out, pale, and breathing heavily.

"Tony?" She asked worriedly. "What's wrong with you?"

"Remember when I told you I have an anxiety issue?" Tony snapped at the kid in frustration, breathing harder with each second.

"Wait, what?" Lena asked incredulously, walking over to him. "What anxiety issue? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Does this subject make you edgy?" The kid asked.

"Yeah, a little bit. Can I just… catch my breath?" He asked, sitting down and trying to breathe normally, epically failing. Lena was panicking a bit now, and she crouched down in front of him.

"Hey Tony, just relax," she said in as calm of a voice as she could muster. "You're okay, just listen to my voice, alright?"

"Are there bad guys in Rose Hill?" The kid asked in a quick, panicked voice. "Do you need a plastic bag to breathe? Do you have medication? Do you have PTSD? Are you going completely mental?"

"Oh my gosh kid, would you chill out for five seconds?" Lena snapped, looking over her shoulder briefly before turning back to Tony. "Tony, look at me," she ordered. He complied, staring into her eyes with his own panicked ones. "You're here, right now. In the snow, in Rose Hill, Tennessee. You're safe, I'm here, and everything is fine. Just focus on this moment right now."

Tony stared up at her with wide eyes, his breathing seeming to completely halt. He knew that Lena was trying to help, and if it were anyone else saying what she was, it might have worked. But considering all he could see at that moment was her face pulling him out of the portal back in New York and saving his life, it only sent his anxiety tipping over the edge.

"Ah dammit," Tony said breathlessly as he scrambled to his feet, knocking Lena backwards in the process on accident. "You did it now, didn't you kid? You happy now?"

"What did I say?" The kid shouted as Tony took off in a run back down the street. Lena and the kid looked at one another in total confusion before taking off after him.

"Tony!" Lena shouted, coming to a screeching halt at the corner of the street where Tony fell to the ground in the middle of the snow. She grabbed his face and turned it to her, scanning him for any outward signs of what was going on in his brain.

"What the hell was that?" The kid asked bluntly.

"Hey!" Lena shouted, looking over her shoulder at him. "First of all, watch your mouth. Second of all, here's a free lesson in the wise ways of adulthood: don't be a dick."

"Yeah," Tony agreed with her, throwing a handful of snow at the kid's shoulder. Lena laughed, but stopped as he did the same to her.

"Hey! What was that for? I was defending you!"

"You made me remember," he said breathlessly, pulling himself up to his feet with her help. "I don't like to remember."

Lena looked up at him with worrisome eyes, her expression somber. He really was having some major issues coping after the Battle of New York and she had probably made it worse by being all in his face back at the memorial.

"Okay," she said simply. "We don't have to remember right now."

Tony gave her a grateful nod before going looking back up at the kid. "Where were we?" He asked quickly. "The guy who died. Relatives? Mom? Ms. Davis, where is she?"

"Where she always is," the kid said as if it were obvious, pointing over to a grill and bar just across the way.

"See?" Tony said matter-of-factly. "Now you're being helpful."

**xXxXx**

Lena and the kid, who was named Harley she finally discovered, sat outside on the cold curb together while Tony went inside the grill and bar to chat with Chad Davis' mother.

"So what's it like being an alien?" He asked curiously.

"Oh you know, it's stressful," Lena said in mock seriousness. "It's always annoying coming to earth and having to change my appearance. But the green skin and antennas freak people out, so what can you do?"

She looked down at the kid to see his reaction and was surprised to see him staring up at her unamused.

"You know I'm not six, right?"

Lena rolled her eyes. "Geez, you are like, zero fun." They were both quiet for a bit and Lena spotted a pay phone about two blocks down the street. "Hey kid, you got any quarters?"

**xXxXx**

"Come on, pick up, pick up," Lena murmured as the line continued to ring. "Dammit Clint, just pick up the–"

"_Hello?"_

Lena froze. It was him. It was Clint. He and his panicked voice that she knew so well had actually picked up the phone, and now she couldn't even move let alone speak. Her tongue felt like lead.

"_Lena? Lena is that you?"_

"Yeah," Lena finally managed to choke out, pressing her back against the brick wall behind her and sliding down to the pavement. She pulled her knees up to her chest and stared straight ahead, smiling to herself. "It's me."

"_Lena_," Clint breathed, her name sounding like a prayer coming from his mouth. "_Jesus, I never… I didn't think you would… Fuck, I don't even know what to say."_

Lena bit down hard on her lip, squinting her eyes tightly as she began to cry like always.

"Did you… did you listen to my message?" She asked, her voice small and meek.

"_Yeah, yeah I did_," Clint replied, and Lena could hear the smile in his voice. "_Lena where are you? I'll be there in two seconds, just tell me where you are."_

"Tell me you don't hate me," Lena said quickly, ignoring his question.

"_What_?" He asked incredulously. "_What are you_–"

"I need to hear you say the words, Clint." The tears were steadily flowing now. "I need you to tell me that you don't hate for me for leaving you, for dropping that bomb on you and then just taking off. I need to know that you aren't disgusted with how selfish of a human being I am. Please, I just… I need to hear you say it."

Clint was quiet on the other end of the line, and Lena was audibly crying at that point. She could hear his steady breathing and her heart prepared for the worst.

"_How could I ever hate you?" _He asked softly_. "Dammit Lena, I love you. And yeah, what you did was really shitty, I won't say it wasn't._"

Lena made a small noise of pain at that, biting down hard on the sleeve of her jacket.

"_But that doesn't change how I feel about you. I promised you I would always love you and that hasn't_ _changed."_

Lena smiled meekly, her tears ceasing to flow. Her lip was still trembling though, and she laid her head back against the brick wall and smiled.

"I love you too," she said in a soft voice.

Clint chuckled on the other end of the line. "_You don't know how good it is to hear you say that_."

"You don't know how good it is just to hear your voice," Lena said firmly. "I missed you the second I landed in Asgard."

"_Yeah, about that_," Clint cleared his throat, "_You said Loki had answers about your mother?_"

"Oh yeah," Lena said with a huff. "That was an… interesting conversation, to say the least."

"_Well you can tell me all about it when I come get you," _Clint said firmly_. "Where are you?"_

Lena sighed. "I can't tell you."

"_Why the hell not?" He asked incredulously. "Lena I haven't seen you in three weeks, and I didn't even know when you were coming back or if you ever were. You can't seriously expect me to be okay with not knowing where you are when we're finally on the same planet together."_

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," Lena said quickly. "Really, I am. But just give me like, another day or so, okay? My trip back here wasn't exactly… planned. It was more like a panic attack induced rescue mission."

"_Rescue mission? Who are you rescuing?'_

"Interestingly enough, I'm actually with–"

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

Lena jumped to her feet instantly, her hand gripping the phone tightly at the sound of gunfire.

"_Lena?" _Clint asked worriedly, his voice panicky._ "What was that? Is someone fucking shooting at you? Tell me where you_ _are right now or–"_

_Bang. Bang._

"Sorry babe," Lena said quickly, whipping out her staff. "Gotta run."

"_Lena! Lena!"_

But Clint's shouts went unheard as Lena dropped the phone without hanging up, the receiver dangling off the hook as she took off down the street towards the grill and bar where the gunfire was coming from.

"What's going on?" Harley screamed as she ran past him.

"Get inside!" Lena screamed without slowing down, pointing at a building behind him. "Inside, now!"

Lena was just about to run into the grill and bar when a tall white man with a buzzed head and distinctly sharp facial features stepped out of an alley and stood right in front of her. She came to an abrupt stop, taking a few steps back. Lena immediately rose into a defensive stance, seeing the menacing smirk on his face. This guy was certainly not a friendly.

"Can I help you, Toothpick?" She asked harshly, eyeing the toothpick hanging out of his mouth with disgust.

"Sure can, sweetheart," he said, smirking even wider, not concerned in the slightest. "How about you and I dance a little bit?"

Lena grinned. "Mind if I lead?"

He held his hands out in front of him. "Be my guest, Blondie."

Lena jumped right into action, spinning around on her heel and swinging her staff at his left side. He jumped away and dodged it just in time, but Lena was already pivoting on her feet to get on the other side of him, jabbing the staff behind her and into his lower back. He let out a grunt of pain, but wasn't easily dismayed.

Lena shrieked as he reached back and grabbed her hair, pulling her down to the ground with what felt like superhuman strength.

While Lena was on the ground, he flipped her over and pinned her hands down to her side. Lena struggled, looking over to the middle of the street where her staff had fallen away from her.

Just beyond her staff though, Lena watched as Tony threw himself into a window and crashed inside a building. _What the hell is he doing? _She thought to herself.

"Not much of a fighter without that stick of yours, huh cutie?"

Lena snarled, looking up at her attacker to make a sassy retort, but then she froze. One side of the man's face was glowing bright red, as if fire was burning underneath his skin.

_Well that's new_, Lena thought.

"So what now?" The man continued to taunt her. "All rough and tough against the big bad New York aliens, but you can't handle little old me?"

"On the contrary," Lena snapped, snapping her face forward and head-butting him – hard.

The man yelped more in surprise than pain, and Lena used the distraction to roll out from under him. He stood between her and her staff, and she called the weapon to her, making it smack him in the back of the head.

He fell to his knees, and Lena picked up her staff nonchalantly and took a few steps away. The man was just starting to stand up again, breathing heavily as Lena whirled back around to face him.

"You're not that great of a dancer," she said matter-of-factly, slinging her staff sideways to throw a massive force field at the man.

He went flying into the building behind him, smacking back against the wall hard enough to make a few bricks break loose.

After waiting a couple seconds to make sure the man stayed down, Lena spun on her heel and looked back down the street towards the building she had seen Tony crash into. She took off in a sprint in his direction, but then was blown backwards as the building exploded in a giant burst of flames.

Lena coughed, spluttering and trying to catch her breath as she slowly pulled herself back up to her feet. The explosion had sent her flying backwards several feet, and she could feel blood trickling down her leg. Whatever injury she had would heal soon enough though, and besides, she wasn't worried about herself at all the moment.

"Tony!" Lena screamed, her heart seeming to shatter into a thousand pieces. He had been inside that building, and there's no way he could have survived. "Tony!"

Lena dropped to her knees, leaning back on her heels as she covered her mouth with a dirty hand. A sob erupted from her trembling frame. Her staff dropped from her other hand with a clang.

"No, no, no," she whispered to herself.

"Hey!"

Lena froze, looking up slowly and to her left. None other than Tony Stark stood there, covered in soot and snow, staring at her incredulously.

"Seriously Maggie Pie? Can you not go like, one whole day without crying?"

Lena's tears immediately ceased as she rolled her eyes and stood to her feet, grabbing her staff.

"I thought you were dead," she said bluntly, walking over to where he stood, seemingly perfectly fine.

"That seems to be the growing consensus," he shrugged. "But truth be told–"

Tony cut himself off mid-sentence as he and Lena both turned and stared down the street in horror. The man that Lena had just been fighting was standing at the base of a water tower about 75 yards away from them. He had his hand at the base of the tower, his skin burning bright red and literally melting the metal.

"Tony," Lena said lowly, gripping her staff tightly. "I think this is the part where we run."

"Yepp, run. Good idea," he said quickly.

The pair took off instantly, sprinting away from the water tower. They had barely made it twenty feet before the massive structure fell over and crashed to the ground.

Lena looked over her shoulder in a panic, her blonde hair flying all around her face as her eyes widened in fear. The water was coming at them too fast, and so were all the metal pieces of the tower. They didn't stand a chance.

"Tony stop!" She screamed, grabbing his arm and yanking him back abruptly.

"Now isn't the time to stop, Maggie Pie!" He screamed, looking up at the wave of water in terror.

Lena took a deep breath, closing her eyes and raising her staff up in front of her with both hands. A force field domed around them instantly, and Tony watched and waited in fear to see if it would withstand the massive amount of water rushing at them.

Lena kept her eyes closed, willing every ounce of strength she had into the force field.

When the water hit, she could feel it more than she could hear it or see it. It hit her force field like a freight train, and Lena grunted in pain as she held her staff up even harder. Tony looked on in awe as the water hit the force field and went around them as if it were a wall, protecting them completely. Metal beams and plates from the water tower crashed against it as well, bouncing off easily.

As the seconds passed, Lena could feel herself growing rapidly weaker. She let out a terrible shout of determination, screaming as she poured more strength than she knew that she had into protecting herself and Tony.

And then it was over. The water rushed past them, and the metal clattered to the ground.

Lena dropped her staff as if it weighed a hundred pounds, and Tony only just caught her around the waist before she fell down.

"Woah, woah, easy does it," Tony said as he held her up. Water splashed around their ankles, but they were otherwise fine. "You did great, Maggie Pie. Really great."

Lena chuckled feebly, her eyes fluttering shut as she laid basically limp in Tony's arms. She felt more drained than ever before, but little by little her strength was coming back to her. She managed to look up at him and pat his shoulder weakly.

"Thanks," she said in a small voice. "I try my best."

"Let me go!"

Lena and Tony both snapped their heads to face forward when they heard Harley shouting, each of them tensing when they saw the man from before carrying the kid over his shoulder and stalking towards them with an evil grin.

"Help me! Help me!" The man mocked Harley in a high pitched voice, slinging the kid back over his shoulder and to his feet, wrapping his forearm around to press against the kid's neck. Tony moved to step forward, but Lena raised a hand to his chest when the man pulled out a gun and held it to Harley's head.

"Wait," Lena whispered, looking up at Tony with wide, fearful eyes.

"Hey kid, what would you like for Christmas?" The man asked Harley mockingly, waving the gun around next to Harley's head and scaring him even further.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Harley said to Lena and Tony.

"It's not your fault, kid," Tony said instantly, looking Harley right in the eyes. "Remember what I told you about bullies?"

Harley and Lena both realized what Tony was referring to at the same time. With a deep breath and eyes squinted tightly shut, Harley pulled out the weapon Tony had given him earlier and reared it backwards into the man's face. A bright light went off and the man screamed as Harley was able to break free and run away.

"You like that, West World?" Tony taunted, gently pushing Lena behind him. She was still too weak to do anything, she couldn't even call her staff to her hand.

The man turned back to Lena and Tony with a terrifying expression, his face lighting up like fire as it healed itself instantaneously.

"That's the thing about us smart guys," Tony snapped just as the man was raising his gun. "We always cover our ass."

Lena jumped as Tony suddenly whipped out a hand repulsor he had made in Harley's workshop earlier, shooting it right at the man and hitting him in between his eyes.

Raising her head slowly, Lena stumbled over beside Tony and looked up at him in shock.

"Where the hell did that come from?" She asked incredulously, looking at the device in his hand that she had no idea he'd even had on his person.

"You have your magic, I have mine," Tony said simply, unfazed. "Come on, let's go."

With an arm around her waist helping Lena walk as she regained her strength, Tony led them away from the destroyed water tower and towards the main strip through the town. Lena was finally able to walk on her own again when Harley came running up.

"You're welcome!" He shouted, stepping right into stride beside Tony.

"For what?" Tony snapped. "Did I miss something?"

"Me," Harley said matter-of-factly. "Saving your life."

"A: I saved you first," Tony listed, "B: Thanks, sort of. And C: If you do something, don't be a yutz, alright? Just play it cool, otherwise you come off grandiose."

Lena chuckled weakly, catching Tony's eye. "Right, because you're a professional at playing it cool, Mr. 'I am Iron Man.'"

"Admit it," Harley continued as Tony led Lena over to an unlocked car, helping her in the passenger side. "You need me," he said as he followed Tony around like a puppy dog. "We're connected."

Lena laughed out loud. "Oh gosh, he's like a mini-Stark in training."

Tony looked over at her and glared as he hotwired the car. "What I need," he looked back to Harley. "Is for you to go home, be with your mom, keep your mouth shut, and protect the suit. And stay connected to the telephone because if I call you better pick up. Okay?"

With a sigh, Harley nodded.

"Harley," Lena called out as she leaned over the console and smiled at the kid. "Thanks. Seriously."

With a grin and a blush, Harley just nodded at her.

"Hey, can you feel that?" Tony asked suddenly. "We're done here. Now move out of the way or I'm going to run you over. Bye kid."

"Tony!" Lena shouted. "Don't worry Harley, he's not going to run you over. You're _not_ going to run him over, Tony."

Tony sighed, looking out the window at Harley with a semi-serious expression.

"I'm sorry kid. You did good," he said genuinely.

"So now you're just going to leave me here?" Harley asked. "Like my dad?"

Lena's eyes went wide and she looked at Tony to see how he would react.

"Wait a minute, you're guilt tripping me, aren't you?" He asked suddenly, catching Harley off guard.

Harley crossed his arms, pouting and putting on the fake sad eyes. Lena laughed loudly, surprised at how well he was playing this game and how quickly Tony had caught on.

"I'm cold," he said in feigned sadness.

"I can tell," Tony said, playing along. "You know how I can tell?" He paused for effect, punching the gas right when he said, "'Cause we're _connected_."

Lena was laughing loudly as they sped off into the snowy night.

**xXxXx**

Tony and Lena were about two hours into the drive towards Miami going after The Mandarin's headquarters when Lena's nerves finally started to get to her. Tony kept looking out of the corner of his eye as her foot tapped incessantly and she chewed on her thumbnail while staring out the passenger window absentmindedly.

For the first hour or so they had bantered back and forth while Tony told her more about the Mandarin, and the attack on his house, and what he had been up to since she had left: which was basically a lot of anxiety and very little sleep. Lena then told him about what she had learned about her mother, and Loki's punishment, and the realms that she had visited with Odin during her time away.

But then the second hour had set in and the silence descended. And with the silence, Lena began to dwell. Dwell on her phone call with Clint, and wonder how worried he must be not knowing if she were alive or dead. She didn't have a phone to call him and they didn't have time to stop. She had started to fret and panic, her anxiety making its way to the surface.

And as Tony began to notice this, he had his own internal conflict. A part of him wanted to be the good guy. To tell Lena to go after Clint, that he could fight The Mandarin on his own and he would be fine without her.

But would he be fine? Tony Stark had never been alone. Even when he was alone by everyone else's standards, he'd always had JARVIS, and now he didn't even have that. Lena had been his saving grace when he'd crashed in Tennessee, and he was selfish enough to admit that he didn't want to let her go now. He wanted her to stay and fight with him, help him take down the Mandarin, be there for him.

But as he watched Lena chew her nail down to the quick, no doubt thinking about Barton so hard it made her brain hurt, he couldn't do it. He couldn't be that selfish with someone as good as Lena. She was too good to him, too great of a friend for him to be selfish with her, because he knew she would sacrifice her own happiness without blinking an eye if it meant looking out for her friends.

And that's what Tony was to her. A friend. And as her friend, she deserved for him to not be selfish with her.

"Alright, that's enough of that," Tony muttered as he suddenly pulled the car off to the side of the interstate. Cars honked their horns as he came to a screeching halt, slamming the vehicle in park.

"What are you doing?" Lena asked incredulously as he jumped out of the car and jogged over to the passenger side. "Tony, what the hell?"

"Okay, up and out."

"Tony – Tony stop!"

Without listening to her protests, Tony reached over and unclicked Lena's seatbelt, literally lifting her out of the passenger seat and to her feet.

"What are you doing?" She shouted incredulously as he closed the passenger door and turned to face her. "We have to go after The Mandarin, we don't have time to stop!"

"Correction," he said bluntly. "I'm going after The Mandarin. You are not."

"Wait, what?" Lena asked, her face falling. "But… why? Of course I'm going with you, what are you talking about?"

"No you're not," Tony said firmly. For once, all of his jokes were stowed away. "This is my mission, Maggie Pie. Not yours. You've already done more than enough saving my ass back there, I can't ask any more of you."

"But you _didn't_ ask–"

"And that's just more reason for me to send you on your way," he interrupted. "Mags, you're great," he said firmly, walking over and putting his hands on Lena's shoulders, staring deep into her eyes. "You're the… best friend I could ask for. A real friend, not a computer friend."

Lena stared up at him with a small smile, touched by his words that she could tell were heartfelt and genuine.

"I mean you literally, as you said, traversed the universe to come save my stupid ass," he said in disbelief. "Not to mention you saved my life back in New York without blinking an eye. I can't think of a single other person who has ever looked out for me the way you do."

"Well," Lena shrugged, willing herself not to tear up. "I'm your Maggie Pie. And you're my Starky Poo. We look out for one another."

Tony smiled, his heart swelling. He'd never had a friend like Lena Sullivan and he knew without a doubt that he would never have another one like her.

"Go after him," Tony said suddenly. "Go after Barton, make up, and live happily ever after. Invite me to the wedding."

"Will you be my man of honor?" Lena raised an eyebrow teasingly.

"Of course," Tony said without hesitating, smiling down at her even wider. "Go on. Tell Bird Boy I said hello."

"Only if you tell The Mandarin I said a great big fuck you."

"Duly noted," Tony said, beaming. He paused for a moment before wrapping his arms around Lena and hugging her tightly, much to her surprise. "Be safe, Maggie Pie."

"You too, Tony," Lena said, a single tear slipping out as she embraced him tightly.

They broke apart and Tony stepped back, watching with a small smile as Lena whipped out her staff and held it up to the sky just as dawn began to break, shooting off into the air to fly to DC.

She was going home.

**xXxXx**

**A/N: How'd you guys like it? I never planned on us to stay in the Iron Man 3 movie plot for too terribly long, Clint and Lena have waaaay too much to discuss and shenanigans to get up to. Make sure to review! Thanks for reading! **


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter** **31**

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took a couple days to upload, I had a family emergency and then had to start back to work. Nonetheless, here is what everyone has been asking for: Clint and Lena FINALLY being together again. Review and tell me your thoughts! **

**xXxXx**

Clint Barton crouched at the edge of the roof of his apartment building as he overlooked Washington, DC. His feet were dangerously close to the edge, but it didn't bother him in the slightest. Heights were always the place where he felt the most in control.

But not at that moment. Not then, when all he could think about was Lena. All he could hear in his mind were the gunshots on the other end of the line just before she had ran off from their phone call. All he could see were terrible images of her lying in a pool of her own blood somewhere he couldn't get to. All he could feel was fear and dread that she wasn't okay.

The worst part was not knowing. Not knowing where she was, or who she was with, or who had been shooting at her, or why she was even back on earth in the first place. Clint hadn't slept a wink since he had listened to her voice mail, and he certainly couldn't sleep ever since her second call. Naturally he had called everyone who might know where she was: Natasha, Fury, Hill, hell he even called Tony Stark but didn't get an answer.

Clint was at a loss. He didn't know what to do, there was nothing he _could_ do. Only wait. Wait on Lena just one more time, like she asked. But the task was proving to be infinitely more difficult than he imagined.

It was cold up on the rooftop, the late December air whipping around Clint with little flurries of snow here and there. The sky was gray and bleak, fitting for the kind of day that he was having. The kind of month he was having really.

Things just couldn't go right for Clint. He'd had Lena, he'd had his epic love right in front of him. But then when Loki had attacked her everything had gone downhill. They had broken up, been separated for a month on different missions, then Loki had attacked the NASA facility and Clint had been taken. And then just when things were going right again, Loki had been defeated, Clint was back and they were together again, she had taken off. And he had accepted Lena's apology and forgiven her for that already, that wasn't even a question. But Clint was scared now. He was unashamed to admit that he was scared that they would never get to have their happily ever after they both so desperately wanted if the universe kept throwing obstacles in their way.

But in the back of Clint's mind, he knew that fear was irrational. Sure, they would continue to face danger and various obstacles throughout their relationship if she made it back to him. They were Avengers, of course it wouldn't be easy. But he knew that they were both strong enough as individuals and even stronger together to overcome any and everything life threw at them. They could do it.

But first, Lena needed to come back to him. She needed to be safe and healthy and alive, and Clint didn't know if she was any of those things.

Which explained the roof. The need for control, the need for air so he could breathe. But it wasn't helping.

Clint shivered, pulling the sleeves of his jacket down further over his hands. He couldn't tell if the cold had breached his heart or if it had originated there.

Suddenly, off in the distance, he saw something. He stood to his full height slowly, the wind whipping all around him, but he was numb to it.

The object was getting closer with each second, speeding like a missile or something. Clint squinted his eyes, having difficulty pinpointing just what it was with the low, gray clouds hovering above city.

But then he saw.

"Lena?" He whispered to himself in complete disbelief.

And Lena it was. She was flying faster than ever before, her staff extended in front of her as she held onto it for dear life. She'd been flying for three hours, and her entire body was wracked with exhaustion. Her staff was practically doing all the work at that point, she just had to hold on. And as she neared closer and closer to Clint's building, she saw his familiar figure standing at the corner of the rooftop, looking in her direction. If she hadn't been so weak, she would've smiled.

But Lena was weak. So weak that as she neared the rooftop, Clint easily realized that something was wrong. His face drew together in confusion when he realized that Lena wasn't slowing down in the slightest. If anything, her speed picked up as she began a downward descent towards the building.

"Shit," Clint whispered as she came barreling down to the rooftop. He went into a crouch as she flew straight at the rooftop, missing him by inches.

Lena let out a terrible cry of pain as she slammed into the rooftop, her staff falling away from her with a clang. Her momentum flipped her several times across the roof, earning her scrapes and cuts across her face and arms and legs. She finally came to a stop on her back, where she coughed and spluttered, trying to catch the breath that had been knocked out of her.

Clint had already been in motion running after Lena the second she had flown past him, and he reached her just seconds after she came to a stop.

"Lena! Lena!" He shouted, falling to his knees beside her.

Clint lifted her limp body into his arms, his hand running across her bloody face in a panic. Her lips were blue from the cold, and she was paler than ever. Her skin was practically ice to the touch, but she was breathing.

"Lena, baby," he said anxiously, shaking her shoulders. "Come on, open your eyes Lena."

Blinking slowly, Lena managed to open her eyes just a fraction and look up. She tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace through her pain.

"Hey you," she croaked out hoarsely. "Sorry I was late."

Clint laughed breathlessly, his hands smoothing down her wild hair as he scanned every inch of her. He already knew how bloody her face was, but he noted that she was also bleeding on both of her arms and legs. He vaguely registered how odd it was that she was wearing black jeans and a black and white flannel that he had never seen before.

"No, no," he said quickly, brushing her hair away from her face as the wind whipped all around them. "You're right on time."

Lena smiled again, still limp in his arms. "Good," she rasped out, her eyes fluttering closed before slowly opening again. "I think I'm gonna pass out now."

"What?"

But Clint went unheard as Lena fainted from exhaustion.

**xXxXx**

Lena was suffocating. She felt as though there were thousands upon thousands of weights resting on her chest, smothering her slowly. She was choking, gasping for breath, fighting for air.

And then, just before she was about to let herself slip further into the darkness, she heard him. She heard his voice bringing her back the same way she had brought him back just weeks ago.

"_Lena_."

Lena's back arched off of the bed as she inhaled loudly and deeply as though she had never tasted oxygen in her life. Her eyes flew open, wide and dilated.

"Hey, hey, just breathe, breathe for me Lena."

Clint's voice broke through Lena's haze and she finally exhaled, her body going lax. She was still gasping for breath, blinking rapidly as she reoriented herself.

"Clint," she rasped, trying to find him as she began to panic.

"I'm here, I'm right here."

Lena felt pressure on her left hand, and she turned her head to see him. There he was, her Clint. Faithfully sitting by her side, holding her hand in both of his. She immediately relaxed, her breathing slowing as she closed her eyes, squeezing his hand.

"You're alright," Clint assured her, lacing their fingers together with one hand and touching her cheek lightly with the other. "Just breathe, you're alright."

Lena nodded, closing her eyes and taking several deep breaths, her heart rate slowing down. Clint stayed silent beside her as she calmed herself, never taking his eyes off of her face. Her wounds had healed slowly overnight, but she still looked worse for the wear.

A minute or two later, Lena finally opened her eyes again, staring up at the ceiling. She was in Clint's apartment, that much she knew. Beyond that, not much else.

"How–"

Lena was cut off as a violent coughing fit suddenly racked her body. Clint sat up straighter, his body tensing in worry.

"How…" she finally said again weakly, turning her head to look at him. "How long was I out?"

"14 hours," Clint said, lifting her hand to his mouth and pressing his lips to it gently. Lena was silent, watching him with a somber expression as she smiled weakly, closing her eyes. "You scared the shit out of me," Clint whispered.

Lena opened her eyes, taking in the vision of the man beside her. His pressed his forehead against her hand, his shoulders hunched over. He must've felt her eyes on him and raised his head, propping his chin up. He gave her a tight lipped smile, his piercing green eyes staring at her adoringly.

"Sorry about that," Lena rasped out. "I think I might've worn myself out a bit."

"You think?" Clint asked sarcastically as raised his eyebrows at her. Lena chuckled wearily, grunting in pain as she tried to sit up. "No don't try to move yet, just – okay then, never mind," Clint muttered as Lena sat up despite his protests, leaning her back against the headboard. She breathed deeply for a few seconds.

"You know," she finally said, "I think that might have been my most dramatic entrance yet."

"Yeah well let's try not to top it anytime soon."

Lena chuckled, already feeling some of her strength coming back. She looked down at herself and noted that she was in one of Clint's t-shirts and all of the blood had been cleaned off of her.

"Mr. Barton, did you undress me?" She asked in as teasing of a voice as she could muster. Clint just rolled his eyes.

"Well considering your clothes were ripped to shreds and you were basically a popsicle covered in blood and dirt, yes, I did."

"Aw crap," Lena muttered, sighing. "I'll have to send Harley something to pay his mom back for the clothes."

"What?" Clint asked incredulously. "Who the hell is Harley? And why were you wearing his mother's clothes?" He paused for a second. "Who the _hell_ is Harley?"

Lena laughed, squeezing his hand. "Relax. Harley is a ten year old punk kid from Tennessee that acts too much like Tony Stark for his own good."

Clint opened his mouth to ask another question, his face full of confusion, but Lena raised a finger and held it to his lips.

"I'll explain everything," she said softly, and he relaxed. "I just need one thing first."

"What's that?" Clint asked.

Lena smiled, placing her hand on Clint's cheek as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his gently. The kiss was soft, not hot or passionate. Clint's lips were gentle against her own, familiar and peppermint tasting and _home_.

They pulled away seconds later, resting their foreheads against each other. Lena inhaled shakily as she opened her eyes and stared into Clint's.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Clint's lips quirked up in a small smile. "I know," he replied.

"Do you forgive me?"

Clint took a deep breath, leaning back and pushing Lena's hair back behind her ear. She never took her eyes off of him, awaiting an answer.

"Lena," he finally said, his voice full of raw emotion. "I forgave you the second I listened to that voicemail."

Lena let out a deep breath, her entire body seeming to release all of the tension and stress she had built up. Clint kept his hand on her cheek and she covered it with her own, leaning into his palm.

"I don't know what I would've done if you'd… if you didn't…"

"Hey," Clint said quickly, seeing Lena's bottom lip begin to tremble. "You don't ever have to worry about that, okay? I couldn't hate you in a million years. This was just a speed bump. You and me?" He took her face in his hands. "We're still endgame."

Lena smiled, biting her lip as she nodded. "We're endgame," she echoed in a whisper.

Clint smiled, his eyes flickering to her lips before kissing her again sweetly. As his lips left hers he pressed them to her forehead lingeringly and Lena leaned into him.

"How are you feeling?" He asked softly a few seconds later.

"Exhausted," Lena said honestly. "But I can feel my strength coming back."

"What the hell happened, Lena?" He asked tersely. "You came crashing out of nowhere, practically frozen to the bone. It took forever for your scrapes to heal, I couldn't get you warm for the longest time. Not to mention you were wearing someone else's clothes."

Lena made a sound of pain as she moved to sit up straighter and turned to face him, pursing her lips as she thought about how to explain herself.

"Babe, I'm lost," Clint said honestly, frustration seeping into his voice. "I need to understand what's going on before I lose my damn mind."

"Where do you want me to start?" Lena asked softly, vulnerably.

"At the beginning," Clint said firmly. "Right after you took off in Central Park."

"Well the first thing that happened was that I fell off a bridge," Lena said matter-of-factly, pursing her lips comically.

Clint dropped his head down to his chest in exasperation. "You're gonna be the death of me," he grumbled, making Lena laugh. "Please tell me that's a joke."

"No," Lena chuckled. "Not a joke. I literally fell off of the bridge. Fortunately for me, Heimdall caught me just in time before I crashed and died in easily the most embarrassing way any Asgardian has died."

"Remind me to send Heimdall a fruit basket," Clint mumbled.

"Well after that," Lena took a deep breath, "Loki was taken to the prison cell he'll rot in for the next several centuries while I reunited with everyone. I got to see Frigga, Sif and the Warriors Three, my dad. It was interesting, to say the least."

"I'm sure they were glad to see you," Clint said in a low voice. She could tell he was trying to be supportive and not think about how she left him.

"They were. I was glad to see them too," Lena replied honestly. "We had a great big feast that night, all my friends got drunk, I got accosted–"

"Accosted?" Clint asked incredulously. "Who the hell accosted you? Did you tell him you had a boyfriend? Nobody should be accosting you."

"Clint, chill," Lena laughed. The color was coming back to her cheeks the more she talked. "It was just Fandral being an idiot. You met him, he was in New Mexico with us."

"Oh," Clint said as he relaxed. "Was he the one with the stupid mustache?"

Lena chuckled. "Yes, that was him."

"Well he shouldn't be hitting on you," Clint grumbled.

"Anyways, after the feast," Lena continued, "I had to get back to business. Odin refused to let me see Loki when I got there, so I had to be all royal and stuff for a while."

"Royal and stuff?" Clint smirked, his eyebrows raising up. "Please tell me there was a tiara involved. And servants following you around to wait on you hand and foot. Oh, was there a jester?"

"I'll punch you," Lena said darkly, only making Clint laugh. "But no, don't be ridiculous. I've never worn a tiara in my life, that's not my style. I did however have to go visit some other realms with my father to help re-secure political alliances. Everyone was really freaked over Loki's attack here, worried it would happen to them too."

"Wow," Clint said. "I'm impressed."

"Yeah it was pretty wild. I had to be all grown up, it was weird." That made Clint laugh. "It was pretty annoying at times though. In some of the nicer realms I'm widely accepted, but in the others… not so much."

"What do you mean not so much?"

"Well think about it Clint," Lena said with a shrug. "I'm a _half_-Asgardian. I'm the product of the Allfather having a scandalous affair with a human. Some of the realms see me as… I don't know, a disgrace or something. A half-breed. They don't take me seriously."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Clint snapped, obviously angry. Lena's eyes widened in surprise at his reaction. "That's bullshit! You're probably a hundred times smarter and capable than those idiots. Fuck them, how dare they–"

"Clint," Lena interrupted with a chuckle, "Relax. I mean you're right, it's complete bullshit, but… I just have to deal with it."

"You shouldn't have to," Clint said exasperatedly. "I mean I don't know jack squat about any other realms than this one, but I'm pretty sure prejudice is shitty no matter where you're at. You don't deserve that."

Lena smiled softly over at him. "Thank you," she said, genuinely touched by his passion.

The corners of Clint's lips quirked up in return and he kissed the back of her hand once again.

"Well go on," Clint encouraged. "What happened after that?"

Lena sighed. "I finally confronted my father about going to see Loki. I mean that's the whole reason I left, because he has information about my mother and what happened to me when I died back in New York." Clint flinched at her choice of words and she gave him an apologetic look. "Odin continued to refuse me, but then Frigga helped me go against his orders oddly enough. She's a total badass, I hope you can meet her one day. But yeah, she helped me go see Loki."

Clint tensed. "What did he say?" He asked darkly.

"It turns out," Lena said dejectedly, shifting to sit crisscross in front of Clint, piddling with his fingers and looking down. "My mother is definitely one-hundred percent alive. She's been hiding since I was born and pretending to be dead while looking for a way to, get this, become an Asgardian."

"Become an Asgardian?" Clint asked incredulously. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that she's psycho," Lena said bluntly. "She's still fixated on my father, and thinks that he'll leave Frigga for her if she's like him or something. She has this group of people that are all trying to do the same thing."

"How?"

"Blood," Lena answered simply. "They transfused their blood with Asgardian blood, but it wouldn't work. Whatever human they tested it on would have died because pure Asgardian blood is toxic to humans."

"But you're not a pure-blooded Asgardian," Clint said as realization dawned on him. "With your blood, they could–"

"Become like me. And that would be really, really bad."

"That still doesn't explain how your mother survived," Clint continued. "You said that your birth would have killed her."

"It almost did," Lena said. "But after I was born, my blood still was still running through her veins. She was able to heal in secret, and she had Asgardian tendencies for several years. But Loki said that it's worn off since then, which is why she's trying to get to me now."

Clint ran a hand over his face, sighing. "She won't touch you," he suddenly said, his voice dark and dangerous. "She's not going to come anywhere near you."

"Hey, relax," Lena said softly, putting her hands on his face. "For whatever reason, she can't come to me. When I was… indisposed, back in New York, she said that I had to come and find her. And believe me when I say, you don't have to worry about that."

"Good," Clint said firmly. "I'd really hate to have to kill your mother right after I meet her." Lena chuckled. "So what happened after Loki told you all of that? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Lena scoffed. "Oh please, he didn't even come close. He tried to screw with my head, and he kind of did a little bit, but I was fine. I only had about five minutes to talk with him."

"So is he why you came back?" Clint asked. "Loki, is he the one that convinced you to come back to earth?"

"Uh…" Lena stammered, smiling nervously. "Not exactly. After I left Loki, I went to see Heimdall. I was asking about everyone back down here and he told me that… someone was in pretty big trouble. I spazzed a little bit, convinced Odin to send me back, and that was that."

Clint narrowed his eyes up at her skeptically. "You're leaving out a few details. Like who you came back to rescue, where you were, who was shooting at you, and why you were practically dead on the rooftop 14 hours ago." Lena didn't reply for a few seconds, staring at their hands. "Lena. You have to be honest with me if this is going to work."

Lena took a deep breath, licking her lips nervously. "It was Tony," she finally said, looking up at Clint slowly to gauge his reaction.

Clint's face was blank and unreadable, but Lena saw his eye twitching.

"Tony?" He finally asked slowly, his voice strained. "Tony Stark? You came back for… Tony."

"Okay before you freak out and jump to conclusions," Lena said quickly, scooting closer to him. "I asked Heimdall about everyone back here on earth, and he said that Tony was in danger, that he was going to be injured or maybe even killed. I freaked out, panicked. He was all alone, Clint. I thought he was going to die."

Clint breathed slowly, looking up at Lena's pleading expression. He trusted her completely, he didn't think anything was going on between her and Tony or anything like that, but it did bother him that she was willing to come back to earth for Tony instead of him.

"Okay," Clint finally breathed out, forcing a smile. "Go on. What the hell did Stark do this time?"

Lena proceeded to tell Clint all about Tony's happenings with The Mandarin, and the attack on his house, and Harley helping them out. Clint was particularly pissed when she explained about the metahuman that had attacked them, but also proud when she'd told him how she'd protected herself and Tony from the crashing water tower.

Then Clint had proceeded to explain how he had basically been living under a rock for the past three weeks, which is why he hadn't heard anything on the news about Tony.

"What I still don't understand though," Clint said a few minutes later as Lena peered at him over a glass of water he had brought her, "Is why you were so banged up when you got here."

Lena chuckled, setting the glass down. "Tony and I were at the base of Tennessee, a six hour drive from here, when Tony pulled over and demanded that I come see you. He said he had the mission handled, he…" She smiled fondly. "He was very selfless. So I took off into the air and came straight here. But I didn't really think through the whole flying through the freezing cold in December thing. Or about how drained I would be barely even halfway through."

"Lena," Clint said exasperatedly, "You can't just… shit, you could've stopped and called me. I would've come and gotten you."

"I kinda wasn't thinking straight, Clint," she argued. "I just wanted to see you, I just needed–"

Lena choked up, biting her lip and avoiding eye contact. She took a deep, shaky breath and Clint immediately felt guilty for snapping at her.

"I just needed to see you," she finally said. "I needed to come here as soon as I could so you would know how much I care about you, and I could make up for what I did to you."

"Stop, stop," Clint said quickly, lifting her face up to his as tears threatened to spill over her eyes. "Don't cry, not over this, okay? You don't have to make up for anything, do you understand me?"

"But I–"

"No buts," he said firmly. "You've already apologized, babe. That's enough for me."

Lena smiled, her tears held at bay for the time being.

"I love you," she said softly. "I need to say that properly to you, because last time I said it I took off like an idiot, and I want you to hear it the right way. I love you, Clint Barton. With all my heart. I can't imagine doing this crazy, screwed up, dangerous life without you, and I don't ever want to be separated from you again. I'm going to take this relationship more seriously from now on. I promise."

Clint smiled. "I love you too," he said firmly. "So how about we make a deal. I promise to be there with you on all your crazy, last minute suicide missions if you promise to be more honest with me. I don't like not knowing what's going on in that wild head of yours. Especially when you tend to get yourself hurt half the time when you take off on your own."

Lena chuckled, rolling her eyes.

"I know that you're more than capable," Clint continued firmly, squeezing her hand tightly. "I'm not worried about you taking care of yourself, you don't need me for that. But I do need _you_. I can't keep doing this standing back in the shadows crap not knowing if you're okay or not. I want us to face all of our battles together not because we can't do it on our own, but because we're even stronger when we're together."

Lena smiled, her heart feeling ten times its normal size. All her life, she had wanted everyone around her to realize that she was strong, that her independence wasn't something to be threatened by. She didn't _need_ anyone to take care of her, but nothing in the universe felt better than someone simply _wanting_ to.

"I can do that," she said softly. "No more secrets. Just you and me, taking on the world together. Well, taking on the universe actually, if you want to be technical."

Clint just laughed as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, the two lovers smiling against one another. The kiss gradually grew more and more heated, hands roaming and their breathing getting shallower. Clint pulled back and was just about to say something about making sure she was okay with where they were going when Lena's stomach growled loudly.

Clint immediately burst into loud, raucous laughter while Lena's cheeks turned bright red.

"Shutup!" Lena shouted, grabbing a pillow and hitting him with it. Clint paid no mind though, only continued to laugh. "You are such a jerk," she muttered, covering her face in embarrassment.

"Hey, hey, come on," Clint said through his chuckles, pulling Lena's hands away from her face to see that she was grinning up at him in amusement. "I'm just teasing. When was the last time you ate?"

Lena shrugged. "I don't know, a couple days."

"A couple days?" Clint shouted incredulously, his amusement gone. "You can't just not eat, Lena. Stay right here, I'm going to order us some food. I don't know how long it'll take to get here though considering it's Christmas Eve," he muttered under his breath, standing up from the bed to reach for his cell phone.

"Wait, what?" Lena asked in disbelief, her eyes wide. "It's Christmas Eve?"

"Yeah. You didn't know that?"

"No!" Lena shouted, throwing her hands up in the air exasperatedly. "Dammit! I didn't even get you anything!"

Clint laughed again, shaking his head and looking down at her fondly. He set his phone down and crawled across the bed to lean over her.

"Lena, don't you get it?" He asked softly, placing his hand on her cheek. "Every single day that I get to be with you is like Christmas morning to me. You _are_ my gift."

Lena stared up at him with wide eyes, unable to believe that such an amazing man actually loved her. All she could do was smile up at him and say, "You're my gift too."

**xXxXx**

**The Next Day, Christmas Morning**

"Lena. Lena wake up."

"Ungh," Lena groaned melodramatically, rolling away from Clint as he shook her shoulder, burying her face into the pillow. "Leave me alone. Too early."

Clint scoffed. "It's ten o'clock."

"Still too early," Lena mumbled unintelligibly, her face squished against the pillow.

"We have to go somewhere," Clint implored, shaking her shoulder yet again. "Lena, come on. I'm trying to be an adorable boyfriend here, but you gotta help me out."

Lena sighed dramatically, rolling back over and looking up at Clint with tired eyes. He was wide awake though, grinning at her excitedly. Lena couldn't help but chuckle, he really did look like a kid on Christmas morning.

"How are you even awake right now?" Lena asked. "I'm _exhausted_ from last night. I can barely feel my legs."

Clint smirked wildly. "Now that's the kind of thing I like to hear."

Lena laughed, reaching a hand out to push his messy hair back away from his face. Hair that she had messed up in the throes of passion. She hadn't been exaggerating when she'd said the night before had been exhausting, she and Clint hadn't been able to keep their hands off of each other.

"Seriously though, get up woman," Clint continued. "We have to be at HQ at noon."

Lena's eyes narrowed. "Clint," she said in a low voice, "You are not seriously taking me to SHIELD on Christmas morning. Not to mention, I quit, in case you forgot."

Clint rolled his eyes. "We're not staying at HQ. We're just borrowing something and then going somewhere else that is a really awesome surprise that I planned all on my own," he said, beaming in self-pride.

"What are we borrowing?" Lena asked incredulously.

Clint grinned wildly. "A Quinjet."

"A Quinjet?" Lena echoed loudly. "SHIELD is letting you _borrow_ a _Quinjet_?"

"You get perks being a senior agent," Clint said with a shrug, jumping up from the bed. Lena looked him up and down lingeringly, the sight of his bare chest certainly doing the trick of waking her up.

"Now come on," he continued, coming over to her side of the bed. "We can save time and energy if we shower together."

Lena shrieked with laughter as Clint reached down and picked her up out of the bed bridal style, carrying her towards the shower.

**xXxXx**

Two hours later, Lena was sitting next to Clint in the co-pilot's seat of a SHIELD Quinjet, looking out the window wistfully at the clouds. After she and Clint had made sure to conserve water by showering together, they had both gotten changed (fortunately Lena had left some clothes over at Clint's place before), and headed straight to SHIELD HQ. The building had been practically empty considering it was Christmas morning and there were no alien threats at the moment, so thankfully Lena hadn't had any run ins with the likes of Nick Fury.

They'd gotten on the Quinjet and shot off into the sky by 11:30. Clint had refused to tell Lena where they were going, but Lena could only guess that it was something exciting considering the way he kept grinning like an idiot every time she asked. So far they had been in the air for about an hour and Clint wouldn't budge on his secret surprise.

"Here," Clint said suddenly, reaching into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulling out a bandana. "Put this over your eyes."

Lena scoffed in amusement, taking the bandana and looking at him in disbelief.

"You're kidding me, right?"

"Not at all," Clint said with a smirk in her direction. "Put it over your eyes. We'll be landing in a couple minutes and I want this to be a surprise."

Lena huffed, giving him a humorous glare before finally conceding. She wrapped the bandana around her head, covering her eyes.

"How do I look?" She asked teasingly, blindly turning her head in Clint's direction. Clint just laughed.

"You look great, baby."

Lena grinned, leaning her head back against the seat as she felt the Quinjet start to make their descent. Her body jolted as they landed.

"Are we here?" Lena asked, hearing Clint taking off his fastening belts.

"Yepp," he said excitedly, reaching over and unclicking her from her seat as well. "We're here. Come on."

Taking her hand in his own, Clint led Lena out the back of the Quinjet slowly, pressing the button to lower the back ramp. Lena gasped when she felt the cold.

"Jesus, Clint. It's freezing!"

"Come on, come on," he said enthusiastically, leading her out of the Quinjet.

The first thing Lena noticed was the snow. Her boots crunched as she stepped on the ground, and she could feel little snowflakes landing in her hair. The wind was tolerable, but the air was simply cold. Other than that, it was oddly quiet, no other sounds at all. She couldn't hear any traffic, or sirens, or anything.

"Where are we?" Lena asked, feeling oddly vulnerable not being able to see.

"Just wait," Clint said, squeezing her hand. "You'll see."

Lena blindly followed Clint as he walked her through the snow, telling her to watch her step in certain places. He finally brought her to a stop, asking her to stand still. A few seconds later, Lena felt him standing close behind her.

"Are you ready?" He whispered in her ear. Lena shivered, but not from the cold.

"Yeah. I'm ready."

Lena blinked at the sudden brightness, squinting as Clint took the bandana away from her eyes. When her eyes finally began to register, she realized she was standing in about two feet of snow, in the middle of a wide expanse of open air. There weren't any roads around, and Lena could see mountains off in the distance topped in white.

But while Lena caught all of that instantly, it wasn't what her focus was on. Right in front of her stood a two story wooden house. It had a great big front porch with steps leading up to it, a massive chimney stack that was covered in snow just like the rest of the roof, and a bright red front door. It was a beautiful house.

Lena's face drew together in confusion when she looked to the side of the house and saw a big red barn with a snow covered tractor sitting outside of it. She did a 360, feeling Clint's eyes on her the whole time. There was nobody else around, just her and Clint.

"Clint," she said warily, growing more and more confused by the second, "Where are we?"

"Upstate New York," he replied, smiling at her softly.

"Why are we in upstate New York?" She asked, feeling strangely panicky. "And why are we outside of someone's house?"

"Not just someone's house," Clint said, walking up to her and taking her hands in his own.

He looked deep into her eyes, showcasing all of the love and adoration he felt for her. Lena was frozen, but not from the cold.

"We're outside _your_ house."

**xXxXx**

**A/N: Whaaat? Leave a review!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

**A/N: GUYS. WE PASSED 200 REVIEWS I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. I'm seriously so overwhelmed by all of the love and support, you people blow me away. The encouragement you guys give me overshadows the occasional rude review or personal message I get and motivates me to keep writing my best. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! **

**xXxXx**

"What?" Lena spluttered, looking up at Clint like he had two heads. "My house? _My_ house? What does that even mean?" She looked between the house and Clint quickly, confusion etched all over her features. "I don't understand."

Clint chuckled, squeezing her hands and warming them for her as the snow continued to lightly fall around them. He couldn't help but think how adorable she looked when she was all twitchy and confused.

"It's yours," Clint said, gesturing to the house. "The house. It belongs to you."

"No it doesn't," Lena said incredulously, seeming appalled. "I don't… I don't own a house!"

Clint just chuckled, staring her down to see how long it would take for her to catch on. She continued to look between him and the house, her face drawn together as her mouth opened and closed with little spluttering sounds. He could practically see the gears turning in her head, and when realization dawned on her she froze.

Lena looked back at Clint with her jaw dropped and eyes blown wide.

"You didn't," she said slowly in complete shock.

"I did." Clint grinned.

"You did not!"

"Oh but I did."

"Clint!" Lena shouted. "You… you bought me a _house_?!" She could hardly form coherent words, she was so overcome by disbelief.

"Technically it's a farm," Clint said with a shrug. Lena scoffed, making little ridiculous noises of surprise. "Come on, I wanna show you the inside."

Lena was still spluttering as Clint took one of her hands and led her up the stairs of the front porch and through the unlocked front door. Once they were inside, he dropped her hand and closed the door shut behind them. Lena stared in open-mouthed shock at the interior of the house.

"It needs some work," Clint said offhandedly as he watched her reaction carefully. "I want to redo some of the flooring, maybe paint some of the walls. Whatever color you want really, it doesn't matter to me. And we can refurnish the kitchen, and anywhere else. I was thinking that…"

Clint continued to ramble, but Lena didn't hear him. Her eyes were wide and her body lax as she walked further into the house. It was beautiful. To her right she could see a big living room, and to her left there was a dining room and a kitchen that was the perfect size for a small family. There was a set of stairs leading up to the bedrooms, and another parlor on the first floor. The foyer was wide and spacious, all the flooring and walls made out of sturdy wood framing.

"It's perfect," she whispered while Clint was still rambling about all of the little projects he wanted to do.

Clint quieted, watching as Lena ran her hand over one of the walls. A small, almost unnoticeable smile quirked up the corners of her mouth as she continued to survey the house. And it _was_ perfect. It was everything she had dreamed of.

"You like it?" Clint asked softly, finally getting Lena's attention again. She turned around to face him and laughed breathlessly.

"Like it?" She echoed. "Clint, I love it. But I'm still so confused."

"After New York," Clint began to explain, stepping closer to her. "I asked you what you wanted. And you told me you wanted this. A house, a normal life. I promised I would give that to you." He gently pushed her hair back away from her face as Lena stared up at him in awe. "And now I have. This place is yours."

Lena let out a dry chuckle, shaking her head. "Clint you can't just buy me a house," she rasped. "This is crazy."

"Yeah, it probably is," Clint shrugged. "But I'm crazy about you, so it's fitting. In New York, after you took off, I started working on this. I knew that you would be coming back, I just didn't know when. And I wanted to be able to give this to you. To show you that you can stay, with me. That we can find a way to be normal together."

"But – but you have SHIELD. And I have to do my part to protect the people here too, and there's always–"

"We'll find a way to make it work," Clint interrupted, taking her face gently in his hands. "I'm not saying I want us to get married and have kids right now or anything like that, I am sometimes realistic."

Lena chuckled. "Only sometimes though."

Clint grinned. "I'm just saying that when we are off from our respective world saving duties, we have this to come back to. Fury helped me set it up, it's completely safe. Off the grid, nobody will know that we have this and try to use it against us."

"Fury helped you?" Lena asked. "Does he know this is for the two of us? I figured he hated me now."

"Actually, he admires you," Clint replied, making Lena's eyes widen in surprise. "Nobody's ever quit SHIELD and then yelled in the Director's face before. He thinks you're a badass."

"Well," Lena shrugged her shoulders with a coy grin. "He's not wrong there."

Clint smiled, looking down at Lena fondly. He couldn't believe just how much he loved her. It was beyond his comprehension. He would do anything and everything for her, all she had to do was ask. And Lena knew that, and yet all she wanted was _him_.

"We'll keep our places in DC," Clint finally said. "But whenever we have time off together, I want this house to be a place for _us_. For me and you, and nobody else."

Lena took a deep breath, averting her eyes. She was beyond overwhelmed

"Clint, it's… it's too much," she rasped.

"No, it's not," he replied firmly. "It's just enough. I want this too, baby. I want to finish a mission and come back here with you. I want to start a life together. I want to know that no matter how chaotic this fucked up world gets, I have something that's constant: you. You and me, here. Together."

Lena bit her trembling lip, looking up at Clint through a haze of tears. He was staring down at her expectantly, gently wiping away a tear from her cheek that had managed to slip out.

"Okay," she finally said.

"What?"

"Okay," Lena repeated herself, laughing. "Okay, let's do this. Let's live out in the middle of nowhere together."

"You're serious?" Clint asked incredulously. Lena nodded again and he laughed loudly, grabbing her around the waist and picking her up and spinning her around. Lena shrieked and joined his laughter, holding on to his shoulders as he finally lowered her down. Her feet had barely touched the floor beneath her before he was pressing his lips against hers.

Lena practically melted in his arms, feeling every bit of the emotion he was pouring into the kiss.

"I love you," Clint said as he pulled away, staring deep into her eyes. "I love you so damn much I can't even wrap my mind around it."

Lena chuckled, pressing her forehead to his. And then she said something to him she had said what felt like ages ago, so many times, back when their feelings were first developing for one another. She smiled, hovering her lips over his.

"The feeling's mutual, Hawkeye."

**xXxXx**

**FOUR AND A HALF MONTHS LATER**

"Clint, I'm not going to keep arguing with you about this."

"_We're not arguing, we're having a… a heated discussion."_

"Oh is that what we're calling it now?" Lena chuckled, holding her phone to her ear as she beat the side of the tractor with a wrench.

"_I don't think hitting it is going to help anything," _Clint drawled on the other end of the line.

Lena huffed, tossing the wrench to the other side of the barn. "Stupid tractor," she muttered under her breath. She put her free hand that wasn't holding her cell phone on her hip, sweat dripping down her temple. It was an unusually warm day for late April, and she had been trying to get the damn tractor started since it had crapped out on her earlier that morning.

"_If you would just wait until I get home–"_

"Are you kidding me?" Lena interrupted, walking out of the suffocating barn and into the sunshine. "I am fully capable of fixing a tractor myself, thank you very much. I don't need anyone's help. Although I could call Tony…"

"_Don't you dare," _Clint said lowly, making Lena laugh. _"What were you even doing that made it blow up_ _on you?"_

"Well," Lena said matter-of-factly, walking away from the barn and towards the house. "You know I got in last night from helping Rhodey with that weapons dealing ring in Seattle."

"_Yeah, how'd that go by the way?"_

Lena scoffed as she walked up the porch steps. "Easy. Rhodey could've handled it himself, I think he just likes the company. But anyways, I got in pretty late and there was a tree that had fallen over right beside the barn from that storm that came through last week. I was going to move it out of the way, but then stupid tractor stopped working."

"_Well would you look at my girl,_" Clint said teasingly, and Lena could hear the smile in his voice, _"Working the farm by herself. Did you wear a straw hat? Please tell me you wore a straw hat."_

"Clinton Francis Barton I swear I will run you over with the tractor as soon as I get it running again."

Clint laughed, and Lena smiled as she filled up a glass of water in the kitchen – their kitchen. It had been almost five months since that Christmas morning when they had made that step together, and since then life had been a whirlwind.

Clint was still working missions fairly regularly with SHIELD, and Lena had been brought on as an official conflict consultant with both SHIELD and the US Government. They were both steadily busy, but every couple weeks or so they would get a few days to spend with one another in the home that they shared. In between those times when their days off didn't intersect, they usually stayed in DC. The farm was for the two of them.

Lena had gotten in from her mission with James Rhodes the night prior, and Clint was flying in from a mission he'd just finished up in Mexico. It would be about three hours before he got home.

"_You're not going to run me over," _Clint said matter-of-factly_. "You love me too much."_

"Yeah well," Lena replied with a grin, "It's only because you're so cute."

"_I'll take that," _Clintlaughed_. "So… what are you wearing?"_

Lena rolled her eyes as she hopped up on their kitchen counter.

"Are you sure you're not a fifteen year old boy?"

"_Still up for questioning. Come on, just tell me," _he whined._ "I haven't seen you in ten days."_

Lena sighed. "Well," she began in a low, husky voice. "I'm wearing those cutoff jean shorts you like so much." Clint made a groaning sound on the other end of the line and Lena laughed. "And this cute little white tank top too. But I couldn't find my work boots this morning so I stole yours. They're really big on my feet, I kind of look ridiculous."

Lena stuck her feet out in front of her and chuckled at how odd Clint's larger boots looked on her tiny feet.

"_I can't wait to see you,_" Clint said after a few seconds. "_This mission really sucked_."

"I'm sorry," Lena said softly, knowing that Clint had gone down to Mexico to track down some guys that were using kids to smuggle a new drug across the border. She had a feeling it hadn't gone too well.

"_Yeah, me too," _Clintsighed_. "But I'll be there in a couple hours."_

"I'll be waiting," Lena said brightly. "In my cute little short shorts, too. And maybe nothing else, who knows."

"_Babe, you're killing me."_

Lena laughed at Clint's whining.

"I'll see you in a bit. Be safe, I love you."

"_I love you too. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow."_

"Yesterday, today, and tomorrow," Lena echoed with a smile. A second later she heard the line go dead and she sat her phone down on the counter next to her. That little phrase, "yesterday, today, and tomorrow" had become commonly used between them, and it always made her smile because she knew they both meant it with all of their heart.

With that wistful, loving smile still plastered on her face, Lena set about cleaning up the house. They hadn't been there for a couple weeks, and it had gotten a bit dusty and whatnot, which bothered Lena to death. As she cleaned up, Lena thought back over the past four and a half months.

Life with Clint Barton was always interesting. Whenever they weren't doing their jobs, he was always up for adventure of some kind, which Lena adored about him. But at the same time, he was completely okay with sitting at home and having a Star Trek marathon too. They had become so in sync with one another that it was like they were the same soul living in two bodies.

Sure, they had their arguments. Quite a bit of them actually. They usually had something to do with one of them doing something particularly dangerous on a mission that could've gotten them killed. Neither of them enjoyed having to stitch up the other or clean wounds when they had their rare time together.

And even though that time was indeed rare, they each made sure to keep their individual friendships intact. Clint made sure to spend time with Natasha outside of missions, and Lena was constantly visiting Tony whenever she could. The couple didn't isolate themselves from the world after moving in together, they simply valued their time together more.

The one thing that had been holding Lena back from complete and total happiness in her life was her separation from Asgard. Yes, she loved being with Clint and back on earth and helping protect people every day, and she wasn't planning on running back to Asgard the second she had a chance like she did after the Battle of New York. But she did miss it. She missed her family and her friends. It was difficult feeling as though her heart was about to burst with joy the majority of the time, while at the same time feeling as though a part of it was missing.

And Clint understood this, he truly did. Lena had made a point to be more honest with him about her emotions, and in doing so they had grown together in their relationship. They trusted each other more, and understood each other better despite the distance that tended to separate them.

So overall, Lena was happy. She wasn't the happiest she could possibly be, but she truly was happy. And that was more than she could ask for.

But one thing that hadn't been resolved and that Lena hadn't even attempted to pursue was the case of her mother. Camille Sullivan rarely crossed Lena's mind because she was so adamant about avoiding the idea of her birth mother not giving a damn about her for anything except her blood. Lena's relationship with Clint had almost been ruined because she had been fixated on finding answers about her mother from Loki, and now she refused to let Camille take anything else away from her.

Unfortunately for Lena, Camille Sullivan had plans that went beyond Lena's denial.

Humming as she went about her work, Lena was reorganizing the fridge when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She froze, closing the fridge door slowly as she looked out the kitchen window above the sink.

On the backside of the house, there was someone edging out of the tree line. Lena stepped closer to the window, her body tensing instinctually. Her eyes widened when she realized that the person wasn't alone – there were at least four other men coming out from different areas of the tree line behind the house.

And all were armed.

Lena sank into a crouch that hid her from their line of sight, breathing heavily as she pressed her back against the cabinets underneath the sink. Somebody was coming for her.

Standing up slowly, Lena raised herself just enough to look back out the window. She could see twelve men now, all dressed in black with face masks and carrying automatic weapons. She watched as one of them gestured to the others to go around the front side of the house. She was being surrounded.

Lena sank back into a crouch, her mind whirring into Sparkstrike mode. She was being ambushed, but by who she didn't know. She was alone, and whoever these people were would be coming inside any moment. And she didn't even know how many there were.

Lena crawled across the kitchen floor, staying away from the windows as she reached up and snatched her phone from the counter. She dialed the familiar number and held it to her ear, her heart racing.

"Come on, come on," she whispered to herself. "Pick up."

"_Miss me already_?" Clint's cocky voice came across the line after the third ring. "_Let me guess, the tractor wouldn't_–"

"Clint," Lena interrupted, her voice hard and sharp. "There's people outside the house. Armed, at least twelve. Dressed in black head-to-toe. I have no idea who they are."

Clint was silent for a split second.

"_Get out of there_," he said in a dark voice, all of his humor gone and replaced by worry and training. _"You get the hell out of there right now. Grab your staff and go."_

"I can't," Lena hissed. "They're surrounding the house, and I left my staff in the barn. I'll have to–"

Suddenly, the front door creaked. Lena froze, not daring to even breathe. The house was deathly silent, but Lena's trained senses could hear someone taking stealthy steps inside.

"_Lena_," Clint said through the phone. "_Dammit Lena, talk to me_."

Silently, Lena stayed in a crouch and rushed over to the pantry, stepping inside the small closet-like space. She only just managed to close the door and hide herself inside as the first man stepped into the kitchen.

Lena was like stone. She didn't move, she didn't breathe. She muted her phone, but didn't hang up the call with Clint.

The pantry door had a shutter like surface that allowed her to see through to the kitchen but didn't allow the intruders to see her. She watched as they stepped in silently, guns raised and at the ready. There were three men, all dressed the same in black, big and very tough looking.

"Check upstairs," one of them whispered to the other two, gesturing with his gun. Lena watched with wide eyes, lined shadows crossing her terror-stricken face.

Two of the three men left to go upstairs, and Lena waited and watched as the other one glanced around the kitchen one more time before leaving towards the living room.

Once he was gone, Lena finally allowed herself to breathe as quietly as she could. She unmuted her phone and raised it back to her ear.

"Clint," she whispered almost inaudibly. "They're in the house. I'm hiding in the pantry, they didn't see me."

"_I've got three SHIELD squads heading to you right now," _he said in a deadly tone.

"They won't get here in time," she replied, hoping and praying that the intruders couldn't hear her. "I'm gonna make a run for it."

"_No, you stay hidden," _Clint said firmly. _"You're outnumbered, just stay where you are."_

"Yeah, I'm not going to do that," Lena whispered matter-of-factly.

"_Lena–"_

"If I don't call you back in five minutes, send another squad," she interrupted. "I love you. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow."

"_Lena don't you dare–"_

Lena ended the phone call, silencing her phone and putting it in the back pocket of her jeans. She took a deep breath and grabbed a broom from behind her, clutching it as if it were her trusty staff.

Thankfully, the pantry door didn't creak as Lena opened it as slowly as possible, scanning left and then right to make sure the kitchen was still clear. She tiptoed in a crouch over to the counter, grabbing a steak knife and holding it in her other hand.

Peering around the corner, Lena watched the one man downstairs overturn their living room. He was checking under couch cushions and muttering under his breath in frustration.

"What the hell?" Lena whispered to herself in confusion.

Realizing that the man's sufficient distraction could be enough for Lena to escape through the side door next to the dining room, she turned away from him to head that way.

But the second she turned around, she froze upon seeing another man in a black mask looking right at her through the kitchen window from outside, aiming a gun right at her.

"Shit."

Lena dove to the ground as he fired the gun off, glass shattering to the kitchen floor around her.

"She's in the kitchen!" The man from outside screamed. Lena rolled over on her back just in time to see the masked intruder from the living room running her direction and raising his own gun. She flung the steak knife at him in one fluid motion, lodging the blade in the side of his neck.

As that man fell to the ground dead, the other one crawled in through the kitchen window. Lena could hear several shouts at that point, and the two men from upstairs running back down.

Jumping to her feet, Lena swung the broom hard at the man in the window's chest, sending him hurtling back out of it and onto the ground outside. She took off in a sprint towards the front door, only to skid back around the corner and hide behind it as a rain of gunfire came at her.

There were three more men at the front door defending the exit, and Lena covered her face as wood splintered everywhere around her. But as she fell into a crouch to crawl to the other side of the room, she noticed that the bullets on the ground weren't metal – they were rubber.

_They're not trying to kill me_, Lena thought to herself in realization.

"Hold!" One of the men screamed, and the gunfire immediately ceased. Lena turned her head to the side, still hidden from their view and aim. "Lena Sullivan!" She heard the man shout. "Come out now, and we will take you with us peacefully!"

Lena scoffed loud enough for them to hear.

"That's funny considering you were just shooting at me!" She yelled.

"I assure you that we mean you no harm!" The man called back to her, and Lena noted that he had a Spanish lilt to his voice.

Lena was breathing heavily, clutching the broom stick tightly in her hand. She had no idea who these people were or why they were trying to capture her instead of kill her, but they had effectively pissed her the hell off.

"Yeah well that makes one of us!" Lena yelled back furiously, taking off in a sprint across the dining room.

The men immediately started to shoot at her again despite their leader's protests, and Lena cried out as three of the rubber bullets hit her in her leg, shoulder, and hip. She jumped up onto the table as she was running, wood splintering all around her as she launched herself through the air and curled into the fetal position as she threw herself out the window.

Glass shattered all around her as Lena sailed through the air and crashed to the ground outside the house, rolling two times. She was up on her feet in an instant, the men rushing out of the house and joining the ones that were already outside.

Lena pushed her legs as hard as they would go, crying out as yet another rubber bullet struck her other leg. It didn't slow her down though, only infuriated her further. She was running to the barn, and as soon as she was close enough, she held out her palm.

Gríðarvölr came flying through the barn doors and straight into Lena's hand. The second it made contact, Lena spun on her heel and slung the staff sideways, sending a massive force field at the ten men chasing her. They were all blown backwards, shouting as they flew five feet in the air before crashing to the ground.

Lena was seconds away from taking off into the air and flying away from the scene when someone grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, punching her right in the face as hard as they could.

Lena cried out in pain as she fell to the ground. Her staff fell away from her and she raised her hand to call it back when suddenly her attacker took his heavy boot and stepped down on her hand – hard.

The scream that erupted from Lena's mouth sounded inhuman, every bone in her hand shattering all at once. Her nose was bleeding profusely, dripping down to her mouth and chin. She looked up from the ground to see a massive mixed man with blue eyes looking down at her in amusement.

"All this talk of the half-Asgardian warrior princess actually had me worried," he said in a deep, unfamiliar voice. "But for no reason at all."

Lena huffed. "Well I wouldn't say no reason."

Using her other hand to call Gríðarvölr to her, the staff came flying at the man's back and hit him behind his knees. He cried out, falling to the ground. Lena rolled away from him and jumped to her feet, clutching her broken hand to her chest.

But the man was too fast. He reached out and grabbed her ankle, yanking Lena back down to the ground with a shriek. Lena kicked out at him and caught him in the jaw one good time, but that only enraged the man further. He dug his nails into her calf that had already been hit with the rubber bullet, making Lena scream in pain.

As she kicked out yet again, the man's hand slid to Clint's boot that she was wearing, and he lost his grip on her as the shoe easily came off.

The man cursed, throwing the shoe to the ground as Lena lifted her staff into the air. But once again, the man was too fast. He grabbed her now bare foot just as she was flying away, pulling her back down to the earth.

"Get off of me!" Lena screamed as she thrashed around, the man wrapping his arms around her. She jutted her elbow back into his stomach and he grunted in pain, but didn't loosen his grip.

"Get your lazy asses over here!" The man screamed at the others. Lena whipped her head back and slammed it into his nose, hearing it break at the contact. "Bitch!" The man screamed, loosening his grip on her just enough for her to break free.

The second she did though, there was a stinging in her neck. Lena gasped in pain, raising her hand to her neck. She pulled out a yellow dart and looked back at the masked man who had shot it.

"Shit," she slurred, falling to the ground and blacking out.

**xXxXx**

**A/N: Whoops. WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN NEXT? Leave a review! **


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